On October 21st, 2019 the "Arctic Cooperation and Ice Silk Road Construction Seminar" was hosted by the Institute of Arctic Studies of Jilin University, the Northeast Asian Research Center, the China-Russia Regional Cooperation Research Center, the Northeast Asian Studies College, and the Northeast Asia Forum. The Forum was held at Jilin University. More than 50 experts and scholars from different fields such as the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, the Russian Academy of Arctic Sciences, Jilin University, Wuhan University, Ocean University of China, Dalian Maritime University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and Jilin Northeast Asia Railway Group attended the meeting.
Before the academic conference, Vice President of Jilin University Zheng Weitao met with the foreign experts. He also conducted in-depth discussion with experts from the Russian Academy of Military Sciences and the Russian Academy of Arctic Sciences on the cooperation on strengthening the Arctic research and the construction of the Ice Silk Road.
The opening ceremony of the academic conference was hosted by Dean of the Northeast Asian Studies College Professor Yu Xiao. At the opening ceremony, Zheng Weitao and the Russian Defense Minister's Adviser and the Minister of Ocean Military Affairs of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, General Igoli Nikolaevich Khmelinov delivered welcome speeches respectively. The Dean of the Russian Academy of Arctic Sciences and the Chairman of the Eurasian National Arctic Alliance, Valery Polanovich Micji, made a keynote speech entitled "China-Russia Arctic Cooperation and Issues of Marine Security. "Relevant persons in charge of the Social Science Division, the Global Engagement Office, the Arctic Research Institute, the Northeast Asian Research Center, the Sino-Russian Regional Cooperation Research Center, and the Northeast Asian Studies College of Jilin University attended the meeting.
During the meeting, Chinese and Russian experts and scholars exchanged ideas from the perspectives of economy, politics, security, science and technology, culture and education. Three topics were discussed and exchanged, including the Arctic waterway and the Ice Silk Road construction, the Russian Arctic strategy and Sino-Russian cooperation, and the international environment of the Arctic exploration, and cooperation mechanism of the Arctic exploration.
In recent years, the economic and strategic value of the Arctic region has rapidly increased and has become an important area of global concern. In order to implement the Sino-Russian Arctic Cooperation Strategy, Jilin University and the Russian Academy of Military Sciences held a symposium on “Sino-Russian Ice Silk Road Construction and Arctic Development” in December 2017. The two sides then carried out a series of pragmatic cooperation and obtained the recognition of the Russian academic peers and relevant government departments. The holding of this conference further enhanced the influence of Jilin University in the field of Arctic research, and further deepened the exchanges and cooperation between Jilin University and the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, the Russian Academy of Arctic Sciences and domestic universities.
