The 3rd Yenching Global Symposium is held in Beijing on April 12-15, 2018. Approximately 200 delegates, Yenching scholars and experts from 62 countries have gathered to explore the topic, "Renaissance, China's Journey in a Global Future."

"Globalization" is a key word in China's policy and diplomacy. Since the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), the 2nd imperial dynasty of China, the country has been interacting with its neighboring countries. The most famous product of globalization during that era was the Silk Road, which had connected the east and the west. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative which is a development proposal based on an ancient silk road model. Today, in this new digital era, when the country's digital economy has accounted for 32.28 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, the digitized globalization posts as much opportunities as challenges to China and its future.

In the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia under the theme, "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity," Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to further opening-up and deepening the reform and unveiled a set of major new measures for doing so. As Xi declared, "China's door of opening-up will not be closed and will open even wider."

So what is China's future? How does China, a society with distinct ancestries and cultures, build toward "a shared prosperity and a common future" which is a concept proposed by Xi? What duties does China envision for itself in a globalized future and what does the world expect from China? What influence do Chinese philosophy and culture have on China's soft power? These are questions that require discussion.

Yuan Ming, Dean of the Yenching Academy; Li Jing, Global Head of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications, Whittle School & Studios and Li Shan, CEO of Silk Road Finance Cooperation; Alicia Giron, Professor at the Faculty of Economy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico; Andrea Zorzetto, Digital Policy Advisor for Paris Hospital Network; Julie Broussard, Country Programme Manager for the UN Women China Office; He Yafei, Honorable Professor of Yenching Academy who served as the ambassador of China in United Nations at Geneva and others were invited to share their ideas and experiences at the 3rd GYS Forum.

Yenching Global Symposium (YGS) is a flagship event of Yenching Academy, which was founded by Peking University, a prominent university in China.

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