Background

It is noted in the I Ching, or Book of Changes, a Chinese ancient classics, that “maintaining Taihe will help develop everything smoothly.” That said, Taihe stands for a supreme harmony. Such harmony can be achieved through coordination and collaboration among all things and the unity of their nature. Taihe symbolizes the ancient wisdom of life which guides people to rediscover the true meaning of their world. The purpose of Taihe is to obtain continuous wisdom and momentum through the creation of common values.

Nowadays, lack of Taihe seriously challenges contemporary human civilizations. Rapid technological development, climate change and environmental degradation, uneven wealth distribution, and geopolitical tensions are some of the significant threats undermining our common values and civilizations. Human civilizations may fall into the abyss without gathering wisdoms and taking actions.

Objectives and Participants

The Taihe Civilizations Forum (TCF) has been initiated to engage global leaders of all fields in supporting "the harmonious development of common values and the advancement of human civilization." The TCF focuses on global and regional challenges, explores root causes, identifies and promotes possible solutions, as well as facilitates communication and impacts creation across borders.

Forum Principles

The TCF follows four principles to define the research agenda, guide its work and actions, and effectively contribute to the overall Forum objectives:

• Impartiality: maintaining a diverse, open, also rigorous mindset and aligned actions;

• Globality: fostering international participation and collaboration;

• Foresight: focusing on far-reaching trends and long-term solutions;

• Impact: transforming insights into actions and impacts.

Previous Event Review

The first Taihe Civilizations Forum was held in Beijing from August 25th to 27th, 2017, focusing on advancing human civilizations and developing common values. Approximately a hundred leading experts from business, governmental, international organizations, and academic sector gathered together to discuss on the topics such as people-to-people exchange, climate change and sustainable development, and artificial intelligence.

Keynote speakers at the opening ceremony of 2017 TCF include:

Boping GU, member of the National Committee of CPPCC, and the Chief Cultural Scholar of Taihe Institute;

Thorsten Jelinek, Director of the European Center of Taihe Institute;

Hailong WU, President of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs;

Stephen Orlins, President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations;

Hongjun YU, former Vice Minister of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee;

Cheng Li, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center and Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy program at Brookings Institution;

Liru CUI, Senior Advisor and Researcher of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations; and

Yifan DING, former Deputy Director of the Institute of World Development, Development Research Center of the State Council.

About 2018 TCF

The 2018 TCF will be held in Beijing, China from September 7th to 9th, 2018, with the theme of “Science Culture · Future Ethics · Common Value”. The 2018 TCF aspires to tap into the scientific spirit shared by humanity and cultivate the healthy scientific culture, seeking for a harmonious relationship between future technology and ethics in the rapid process of modern scientific and technological development, and aiming to promote the construction and adoption of common values. The 2018 TCF will be comprised of three sessions: People-to-People Exchanges, Advanced Technology and Sustainable Development. The topics to be discussed include:

1. People-to-People Exchanges

- New paradigms for people-to-people exchanges

- Exchanges between human civilizations and cohesion of common values

- Cultural exchanges along the Belt and Road and building a community for mankind with a shared future

2. Advanced Technology

- Development trends in life science and its integrated application regarding other advanced technologies

- Ethical issues in the future development of life science and its impact on human civilizations

- What role will China play in the field of scientific and technological ethics

3. Sustainable Development

- Clean Energy Industry, Clean Production Industry, and Intelligent Environmental Protection Industry

- New Energy Marketization

- International Cooperation and Governance of Clean Energy

Morning, Friday, September 7th, 2018
Time	Agenda			Location
08:30-11:30	Check-In and Registration			South District
12:00-13:30	Lunch (buffet)			North District, Café for Buffet
Afternoon, Friday, September 7th, 2018, Opening Ceremony Dressing Code:Business Attire
Time	Activity	Speaker	Title	Location
14:00-14:05	Welcoming Video			5th Floor, Grand Ballroom
14:05-14:30	Awarding Ceremony
14:30-14:40	Launching Ceremony
14:40-14:45	Opening Remarks	Irina Bokova	Senior Fellow of Taihe Institute Former Director-General of UNESCO
14:45-14:50		Rashid Alimov	Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization
14:50-14:55		Ivo Josipović	Former President of the Republic of Croatia
14:55-15:00		Bujar Nishani	Former President of the Republic of Albania
15:00-15:05		Zlatko Lagumdzija	Former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina
15:05-15:10		Jan Fischer	Former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
15:10-15:15		Dzhoomart Otorbaev	Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan
15:15-15:20		CHEN Zhimin	Chairman of China Association for Friendship/Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China
15:20-15:35	Keynote Speech	WU Hailong	President of Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs
15:35-15:50		PU Muming	Director of Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences
15:50-16:05		Thorsten Jelinek	Director of Taihe Institute Europe Centre
16:30-17:00	Group Photo			East Side of South District (by the waterfall)
17:00-18:30	Cocktail Party (Business Casual)			5th Floor, Grand Ballroom
	Media Interview			2nd Floor, Front Hall
19:00-21:00	Welcome Banquet			5th Floor, Grand Ballroom
Morning, Saturday, September 8th, 2018, Parallel Session Dressing Code:Business Attire
Time	Agenda			Location
06:30-09:00	Breakfast			North District, Café for Buffet
09:00-11:30	Paralleled Session	People to People Exchange		5th Floor, Grand Ballroom II
		Sustainable Development		5th Floor, Grand Ballroom III
		Advanced Technology		2nd Floor, Meeting Room 7
12:00-13:30	Lunch (buffet)			North District
Afternoon, Saturday, September 8th, 2018, Parallel Session Dressing Code:Business Attire
Time	Agenda			Location
13:00-14:00	Media Interview
14:00-15:45	Paralleled Session	People to People Exchange		5th Floor, Grand Ballroom II
		Sustainable Development		5th Floor, Grand Ballroom III
		Advanced Technology		2nd Floor, Meeting Room 7
15:45-16:00	Tea and Coffee Break
16:00-17:30	Paralleled Session	People to People Exchange		5th Floor, Grand Ballroom II
		Sustainable Development		5th Floor, Grand Ballroom III
		Advanced Technology		2nd Floor, Meeting Room 7
17:30-18:30	Media Interview
19:00-21:00	Banquet			5th Floor, Grand Ballroom
Afternoon, Saturday, September 8th, 2018, Parallel Session Dressing Code:Business Attire
Time	Activity	Speaker	Title	Location
06:30-09:00	Breakfast			North District, Café for Buffet
09:30-09:38	Delegate Speeches	JIN Xu	Senior Researcher of Taihe Institute, Former Minister-counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the UK	5th Floor, Grand Ballroom
09:38-09:46		Stephen Orlins	President of the National Committee on US-China Relations
09:46-09:54		PENG Jianming	Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor of CCTV
09:54-10:02		John Holden	President and CEO of US-China Strong Foundation
10:02-10:10		ZHOU Jiannan	Senior Researcher of Taihe Institute, Vice Chairman of Bairen Benevolent Foundation, CEO of Everbright Securities
10:10-10:50	Panel Discussion
10:50-11:05	Summary report	YI Di	Vice Chairman and Secretary General of Taihe Institute
11:05-11:10	Closing Video
11:10-11:20	Closing Speech	PENG Binge	Chairman of Taihe Institute
12:00-13:30	Lunch (buffet)			North District, Café for Buffet
14:30	Departure