The First International Forum on Socialism and the Seventh International Forum of Thinkers Held in Beijing

From February 28 to March 1, 2013, the "First International Forum on Socialism and the Seventh International Forum of Thinkers" was held at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The forum was co-hosted by the CASS Department of Marxist Studies, the Institute of Marxism Studies, and the Research Center for National Cultural Security and Ideology, alongside the Lao Academy of Social Sciences and the Institute of Philosophy of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. The theme of this forum was "Socialist Ideological and Cultural Construction in the Process of Globalization."

More than 60 experts and scholars attended the forum, representing Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, Cuba, as well as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Jilin University, Tsinghua University, Guangxi University, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, and Guizhou Tongren University. Li Shenming, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, attended and delivered an important speech. Cheng Enfu, Director of the CASS Department of Marxist Studies and President of the Institute of Marxism Studies, and Alberto Jesús Blanco Silva, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to China, delivered remarks at the opening ceremony. Nearly 20 renowned domestic and international scholars from relevant fields addressed the assembly, including Hou Huiqin, Director of the CASS Research Center for National Cultural Security and Ideology; Khampheuy Vannasiri, Vice President of the Lao Academy of Social Sciences; Pham Van Duc, Director of the Institute of Philosophy of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences; Kim Yong Jin, Associate Professor at Kim Il-sung University in North Korea; Xu Shicheng, Honorary Member of the CASS Academic Divisions; Han Xiping, Dean of the School of Marxism at Liaoning University; and Fang Songhua, Executive Deputy Director of the Center for Chinese Marxism Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Deng Chundong, Party Committee Secretary of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, presided over the opening ceremony, and Vice President Fan Jianxin delivered the closing remarks.

The forum was organized into five thematic seminars: socialist ideological and cultural construction, socialist cultural security ^[1], socialist cultural theoretical innovation, the promotion of national cultural characteristics ^[2], and the advancement of cultural exchange and integration. Centered on these themes, the participating scholars engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions.