The 11th China-South and Southeast Asian Think Tank Forum kicked off in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Saturday. Over 100 political dignitaries, experts and scholars from 18 countries convened for in-depth discussions and exchanges under the theme of "Implement the Four Global Initiatives for a Closer Community with a Shared Future."

(Photo provided to the People's Daily)

Co-hosted by the Global South Think Tanks Alliance, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences & Chinese (Kunming) Academy of South and Southeast Asia Studies, this year's forum welcomed opening remarks from Jin Xin, vice minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee; Zeng Yan, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and head of the Provincial Party Committee's Publicity Department; Avijit Banerjee, professor and head of the Department of Chinese Studies at Visva-Bharati University, India; and Kyan Dyne Aung, research director of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Division at Myanmar Survey Research Co, Ltd.

Four parallel sub-forums were set for the event, centering on the core contemporary themes of development, security, civilization and governance. The forum shared experiences of Chinese modernization, facilitated the exchange of ideas, policy communication, experience sharing and practical cooperation, and built consensus on regional cooperation. It has contributed wisdom and strength to advancing common development, upholding peace and stability, deepening mutual learning among civilizations, improving global governance, and supporting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.