On April 25, 2019, at the opening of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Overseas Experts Seminar of CASS-RDI was held in Beijing. This event is an international summit hosted by the Research and Development International of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (“CASS-RDI”) and organized by Grandall Law Firm, aiming to make in-depth research and discussion on the acceleration of going global and other themes and to reach consensus on multilateral cooperation.

As Grandall’s representative, SUN Wenjie, a partner of Grandall, was invited to attend the seminar. Key attendees of the seminar include Jean-Pierre Lafarin, former Prime Minister of France, Essam Sharaf, former Prime Minister of Egypt, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Senator of Pakistan and Chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute, Iqbal Survé, Advisor to the President of South Africa, ZHAO Baige, Vice Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 12^th NPC, Chair of the Advisory Committee of the “Belt and Road” Initiative International Think Tank under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Chair of the Advisory Committee of RDI, FENG Kui, Secretary General of the Academic Committee of China Center for Urban Development and Vice President of the Chinese Institute of Business Administration, DUN Yilan, standing committee member of the Party Committee and Chair of the Supervisory Board of China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation, LE Bai of the Foundation Prospective & Innovation, and TAN Xuemei, China Representative of the Foundation Prospective & Innovation. During the seminar, attendees communicated and exchanged their views on how to play the role of international think tanks, how to establish cooperation between think tanks and governments as well as think tanks and enterprises, and how to effectively improve the communication and cooperation between governments and enterprises.

Dr. Zhao Baige said she was glad that overseas experts and scholars of RDI gathered in Beijing during the summit. “The new type of globalization is the globalization under a peaceful development environment, and the Belt and Road Initiative has become an important carrier of the new type of globalization. RDI is committed to leading and promoting the development of the science and technology industry in countries and regions along the Belt and Road, and constantly attracting more and more international experts and scholars to gather together on the platform”, Dr. Zhao added. Dr. Zhao pointed out that the world is changing and so is China. The five-sphere integrated plan - promoting coordinated economic, political, cultural, social and ecological advancement - indicates that China’s socialist modernization has entered a new historical stage. In recent years, RDI has been exploring, cultivating and promoting technology companies covered by its platform, and working on the top-level design of emerging technologies, products, standards and brands. Enterprises are the main body of China’s going global and the source of creativity, so the investment of enterprises can’t be ignored in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). RDI has been helping enterprises to understand the politics, law and other information and avoid investment risks. So, as the fourth industrial revolution is coming, how to form substantial force for social development became a key topic of the forum.

On the seminar, Mr. SUN Wenjie introduced those efforts made by Grandall Law Firm in relation to the Belt and Road. He said Grandall established a B&R Legal Research and Service Center, initiated the establishment of the Belt and Road Legal Service Cooperation Platform, joined RDI, and actively participated in various events organized by RDI. Grandall has hosted/organized many legal forums and seminars regarding the BRI to make in-depth discussion on legal issues in the construction of the BRI, compiled and published collections of papers related to the BRI, prepared research reports on legal systems of the B&R countries, and released daily and weekly newsletters on BRI. Meanwhile, Grandall has participated in numerous large investment and M&A projects related to countries along the Belt and Road, and rendered high-quality and efficient professional services and support for the development of the BRI. Grandall’s international development, active service for the BRI development and establishment of the legal service cooperation platform were highly praised by attendees of the seminar.