On May 28th, the three-day annual conference “Shanghai Forum 2018” held its closing ceremony at Fudan University. At the closing ceremony, each high-level round table gave a report on the current status and main conclusions of their talk. Park In-kook, president of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, and Jiao Yang, chairperson of the Fudan University Council, delivered their speeches respectively. Chen Zhimin, vice president of Fudan University, hosted the closing ceremony.

This year, nearly one thousand political, business and academic elites and media representatives from all over the world gathered at Fudan University. Focusing on the theme of “Asia’s Responsibilities in a World of Change”, they aim at seeking Asia's future mission in the new global political and economic pattern.

During the conference, through various forms of seminars, round-table discussions, and high-level conversation, experiences were shared among regions ranging from North America, Northern Europe, Central Europe, to Central Asia, ASEAN, Africa, and countries along the Belt and Road. A series of important issues have been discussed, in domains of international relations, the Belt and Road initiative, artificial intelligence, green governance, green financial innovation, digital health, the response to aging problem, the exploitation and governance of polar region, etc. Policy advice and decision-making reference have been provided on how Shanghai, China and Asia should react to the profound adjustments of international political and economic patterns, and how Asia can offer its resources and wit in a broader pattern of global governance.

The Forum believes that confronted with the restructuring of the global political and economic pattern, the current fragmented and inefficient system of global governance has become incapable of coping with the emerging global challenges. New trends and changes are constantly spreading. Asia needs to consolidate cooperation and and collaborate to meet the challenges.

Asia has a vast land with diverse cultures, various political systems, and uneven levels of economic development. Faced with a complexity of traditional and non-traditional challenges, the entire Asian region needs to be more closely united, collaborate and integrate, deepen mutual political trust, increase mutual support, and build a community of shared future that treats and helps each other as equals, that shares weal and woe. Asia needs to adhere to inclusiveness and and strengthen a pragmatic cooperation. The rapid economic growth in Asia has remained among the highest contribution rates to the world economic growth, meanwhile it is also a beneficiary of the economic globalization.

At present, Asia should continue to promote the regional cooperation system through dialogues and negotiations between countries. It should seize the opportunity of a new round of science&technology and industrial revolution, strive to achieve interconnection among trade, capital, and infrastructure, and build an open economic cooperation that motivates a constant rapid growth of the regional economy.

Before the closing ceremony, the forum's organizing committee specially held a high-level conversation titled “Brain Science and Machine Learning: What Next?” The invited speakers included: Peter Dayan, fellow of the Royal Society and co-recipient of the Brain Prize in 2017; Li Zhaoping, professor of computational neuroscience in the Department of Computer Science in University College London; Shi Yu, professor of Physics at Fudan University; Xu Yingjin Changjiang Young Scholar by the Ministry of Education of P.R.C., and professor of Philosophy at Fudan University; and Zhu Pinpin, CEO, creator and founder of Xiaoi Robot. They exchanged thoughts on the cutting-edge issues in relevant fields, and proposed their countermeasures and suggestions for breaking down bottlenecks. The conversation was hosted by Zhang Lifen, professor of Journalism at Fudan University and former founding editor of FTChinese.com.

More than 400 representatives from political, business and academic fields and media representatives at home and abroad were presented on the closing day. Chen Zhimin, vice president of Fudan University, announced the successful conclusion of the Shanghai Forum 2018 and expressed appreciations to the participation of guests all over the world and the contribution of volunteers.