On October 15, the 2016 China Path European Forum (Italy Venue) was held in Rome
On October 15, 2016, the "2016 China Path Europe Forum (Italy Session)" was held in Rome, co-sponsored by the Institute of Marxism Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the Italian Marxism in the 21st Century Political and Cultural Association, the Italian "Marxism in the 21st Century" Publishing House, and the Communist Party of Italy.
Taking "The Five Development Concepts [1] and the China Path" as its theme, the forum hosted a Chinese expert delegation of nearly 40 people led by Deng Chundong, Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies of CASS. The delegation members represented CASS, the Academies of Social Sciences of Shandong and Anhui provinces, and more than 30 Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China.
More than 100 people attended the meeting, including political and academic experts and figures from various sectors of Italian society, such as Mauro Alboresi, the newly elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Italy; Andrea Catone, editor-in-chief of Marxism in the 21st Century; Domenico Losurdo, President of the Marxism in the 21st Century Political and Cultural Association; and Silvio Pons, Director of the Gramsci Foundation [2] Institute in Italy.
Director Deng Chundong first expressed his gratitude to the organizers of this China-Europe Forum. In his opening remarks, he introduced the original intention and development process of the joint establishment of the "China Path Europe Forum" since 2014 to the guests, and presented the achievements made by China and Italy in friendly exchanges and in promoting the China Path. He suggested further expanding the seminar topics of the forum: first, he expressed hope that scholars from both China and Italy would conduct in-depth discussions on the current situation in Europe, the difficulties it faces, the role of the European Union, and important issues of global governance, as well as the current status and development trends of the contemporary world socialist movement. Second, he hoped that the two sides would provide more introductions to their respective national conditions, including the work and domestic/foreign policies of the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of Italy, and increase mutual recognition through conference exchanges to enhance understanding and mutual trust between the peoples and various circles of both countries. Third, he hoped the forum would propose practical measures and content for further strengthening academic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Italy.
Mauro Alboresi first congratulated the forum on its successful convening. He contended that Italy has very little understanding of China, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, and that this situation must be changed through Sino-Italian exchange and cooperation.
The participating experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including the crisis of the European Union and how to overcome it; the Internet and global governance; China-EU, China-Russia, and China-US relations; the future of Marxism and socialism; how to oppose hegemonism and maintain world peace; how to break the information monopoly of certain media outlets; and how to strengthen China-Europe cooperation under the conditions of globalization.
Scholars at the meeting generally agreed that the American model has failed; that the "universal values" [3] imposed on the world by the United States can only lead to crisis and turmoil; and that it is no longer feasible for the United States to attempt to dominate the globe alone. They noted that the EU crisis is an objective reality and that it is unrealistic to rely on any single country, such as Germany or France, to dominate the EU. They posited that the 21st century is the century of the Chinese people; that China is the guarantee of world peace and human progress in the 21st century and a powerful safeguard against global injustice; and that to establish a new international governance system, China's active role must be leveraged and China-Europe cooperation must be prioritized.