On May 17， 2023， the ILSTC Think Tank Alliance （“Think Tank Alliance”） was set up in Chongqing. Its purposes include： facilitating harmonious， inclusive， universally beneficial， and equal dialogues; serving as an open platform for mutual learning and inspiration; promoting exchanges for shared prosperity and diverse development of civilizations， in addition to being a cooperation platform with distinctive value proposition and global influence. In an exclusive interview with our reporter， Song Guohua， Deputy Secretary-General of the Think Tank Alliance and Dean of the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University， told us about the pragmatic measures that have been taken by the Think Tank Alliance in supporting Chongqing to fully integrate into BRI， and the next steps on how to pool the wisdom of think tank experts to build a signature international think tank and tell the world the stories of ILSTC in China and its “Chongqing chapter”.

Building an Open and Shared Academic Collaboration Network

The Think Tank Alliance is an unincorporated academic body initiated by relevant Chinese think tanks together with renowned think tanks from countries along the ILSTC， including Thailand， Laos， Indonesia， Cambodia， Malaysia， etc. Specifically， among the 48 initiators in total， there are 14 foreign think tanks， such as the Asian Affairs Committee of the Argentine Council for International Relations， and China Studies Center at the University of Sydney; and 34 of them are domestic think tanks， including the Institute of Area Studies at Peking University， Fudan Institute of Belt and Road amp; Global Governance， Chongqing Federation of Social Sciences， among others.

Song Guohua said that by leveraging the ILSTC， the Think Tank Alliance is working to strengthen collaboration between cross-domain think tanks， and create an open and shared academic collaboration network. Since its inception， the Think Tank Alliance has been playing an active cooperative role in a stream of events， including eight high-level official visits to Chongqing by ambassadors and consuls-general from BRI countries. In addition， the Think Tank Alliance has seen over 120 exchange visits to and from countries along the ILSTC. Moreover， it has held seven high-level international seminars， such as the 12th China-CELAC High-Level Academic Forum. At the same time， backed by the Chongqing International Communication Institute and the Western Film and Television Translation and Production Center， the Think Tank Alliance has organized a number of important international cultural events， such as the 10th Chongqing Youth Film Festival and the 2023 Chongqing International Cultural Carnival， contributing to Chongqing’s development as an international communication center in western China and telling Chongqing’s stories to the world.

In addition， members of the Think Tank Alliance have collaboratively conducted over 10 projects related to policy interpretation and policy advising. More than 30 research reports have been adopted by government departments at the provincial and higher levels. Scholars from Singapore， Thailand， Vietnam， Russia， etc. have paid more than 10 visits to Chongqing for joint research projects and collaborative initiatives to train talent in area and country studies. The cooperation of international think tanks has yielded preliminary fruits in contributing to government decision-making， enhancing the mutual trust of countries， and winning public support. At the same time， the Secretariat of the Think Tank Alliance has presented information about the development of a modern new Chongqing during its visits to countries along the ILSTC， including Vietnam， Malaysia， Indonesia， Myanmar， Russia， Belarus， etc.

Enhancing the International Value of ILSTC

“The world today faces profound changes of a kind unseen in a century. Against this backdrop， the Think Tank Alliance has to shoulder challenging tasks and responsibilities. It is advisable to follow the trend of global connectivity and partnership and maintain close exchanges and dialogues between think tanks. This will help us to work together to cope with global changes， promote social development， and keep up with the trend of the times.” Song Guohua also said that the Think Tank Alliance would strive to promote the commitment to ILSTC construction to become a shared understanding， pursuit， and goal of the countries along the ILSTC， and keep enhancing ILSTC’s international value and significance.

Specifically， the Think Tank Alliance will collaborate with relevant departments to develop “ILSTC Think Tank Dialogue” branded events and establish the “Land-Sea Brilliance” international scholar and youth program， which will serve as an international talent pool of selected global experts and young students to facilitate ILSTC construction and international communication of Chongqing. In addition， by tapping the strengths of international high-level think tanks for their talent resources and role of a bridge， a joint program for international master’s degree on international affairs （ILSTC-oriented） will be set up to enroll students from countries along ILSTC and other regions. This program aims at cultivating talent for country and area studies and international organizations that are advocated on the national level and urgently needed locally. The Think Tank Alliance will also build an ILSTC people-to-people exchange workstation， which is designed to be an international people-to-people exchange and workplace that combines functionalities of office， conference， talent development， achievement display， networking， and cultural experience， so as to serve the needs of the ILSTC construction and Chongqing’s full integration into the BRI.

The School of International Relations of Sichuan International Studies University is the only one of its kind in Chongqing. Based on its specialized discipline strengths， it will： 1） enhance the interdisciplinary development of area and country studies， adapt to the reform of cultivation of talents required for the opening up in inland regions， prepare international and versatile talents for ILSTC construction and the development of Chongqing as an international exchange center in central and western China; 2） provide intellectual support that combines top theory with in-depth practice for the high-quality development of countries along the ILSTC， relying on the most competitive professional faculty in Chongqing and the Think Tank Alliance’s strengths in terms of interdisciplinary and international high-level think tank talents; 3） build a big data research platform for ILSTC that provides real-time access to open-source data globally and uses authoritative algorithm and data analysis tool models by leveraging the opportunities brought by information technology empowerment for the development of new humanities. It is designed to be a platform for sharing information， resources， and achievements among research institutes， government departments， and market entities， which will serve the needs of open development of countries along the ILSTC.

Photo/Interviewee

2023年5月17日，西部陸海新通道智庫聯(lián)盟（以下簡稱：智庫聯(lián)盟）在重慶成立，旨在打造和諧包容、普惠平等的對話平臺，互學(xué)互鑒、互促互進的開放平臺，文明共榮、多元共進的交流平臺，品牌彰顯、享譽世界的合作平臺。智庫聯(lián)盟副秘書長、四川外國語大學(xué)國際關(guān)系學(xué)院院長宋國華接受本刊記者專訪，介紹智庫聯(lián)盟在服務(wù)重慶全面融入共建“一帶一路”方面開展的務(wù)實舉措，以及下一步將如何凝聚智庫專家力量打造國際智庫品牌，向世界講好陸海新通道的中國故事、重慶篇章。

打造開放共享學(xué)術(shù)合作網(wǎng)絡(luò)

智庫聯(lián)盟是由中國相關(guān)智庫聯(lián)合泰國、老撾、印尼、柬埔寨、馬來西亞等陸海新通道沿線國家知名智庫共同倡議發(fā)起成立的非法人學(xué)術(shù)團體。具體由阿根廷國際關(guān)系理事會亞洲事務(wù)委員會、澳大利亞悉尼大學(xué)中國研究中心等14家國外智庫和北京大學(xué)區(qū)域與國別研究院、復(fù)旦大學(xué)“一帶一路”及全球治理研究院、重慶社會科學(xué)界聯(lián)合會等34家國內(nèi)智庫，共計48家發(fā)起。

宋國華介紹，智庫聯(lián)盟依托西部陸海新通道建設(shè)，加強跨領(lǐng)域智庫聯(lián)合，打造開放共享的學(xué)術(shù)合作網(wǎng)絡(luò)。成立以來，智庫聯(lián)盟積極配合參與共建“一帶一路”國家大使、總領(lǐng)事等高端訪渝活動8項，與陸海新通道沿線國家開展訪問交流120余人次，舉行第十二屆中拉高層學(xué)術(shù)論壇等高端國際研討會7場。同時，依托重慶國際傳播學(xué)院和西部影視譯制中心平臺，智庫聯(lián)盟舉辦了第十屆重慶青年電影展、2023重慶國際文化嘉年華等多項重大國際文化活動，助力西部國際傳播中心建設(shè)，講好重慶故事。

此外，智庫聯(lián)盟成員單位合作開展了政策解讀、咨政建言項目10余項，被省部級及以上部門采納研究專報30余篇，新加坡、泰國、越南、俄羅斯等國家學(xué)者來渝開展聯(lián)合課題研究、區(qū)域國別人才合作培養(yǎng)等共計10余人次，以國際化智庫合作服務(wù)政府決策、增強國家互信、營造良好輿論氛圍成效初顯。同時，智庫聯(lián)盟秘書處赴越南、馬來西亞、印度尼西亞、緬甸、俄羅斯、白俄羅斯等陸海新通道沿線國家訪問，積極傳遞現(xiàn)代化新重慶建設(shè)的好聲音。

提升陸海新通道建設(shè)的國際價值

“當前世界處于百年未有之大變局，賦予智庫聯(lián)盟的任務(wù)更為艱巨、責任更加重大。順應(yīng)全球互聯(lián)互通伙伴關(guān)系大趨勢，密切智庫間的交流對話，是合力應(yīng)對全球變局、推動社會發(fā)展、順應(yīng)時代潮流的明智抉擇?！彼螄A表示，智庫聯(lián)盟將努力推動西部陸海新通道建設(shè)成為沿線國家共同認知、共同追求和共同目標，不斷提升西部陸海新通道建設(shè)的國際價值和世界意義。

具體而言，智庫聯(lián)盟將聯(lián)合有關(guān)部門打造“西部陸海新通道智庫對話”品牌活動，設(shè)立“陸海交輝”國際學(xué)者和青年項目，精準對接西部陸海新通道建設(shè)和重慶國際傳播需求，精選全球?qū)＜液颓嗄陮W(xué)生建成國際人才儲備庫。同時，發(fā)揮國際化高端智庫人才資源優(yōu)勢和橋梁紐帶作用，設(shè)立國際事務(wù)（陸海新通道方向）國際聯(lián)合碩士項目，面向沿線國家和其它地區(qū)招生，培養(yǎng)一批國家提倡、地方急需的國別區(qū)域人才和國際組織人才。智庫聯(lián)盟還將建設(shè)西部陸海新通道人文交流工作站，打造集辦公、會議、人才培養(yǎng)、成果展示、交流互動、文化體驗于一體的國際化人文交流工作場所，服務(wù)西部陸海新通道建設(shè)和重慶全面融入共建“一帶一路”。

作為重慶唯一的國際關(guān)系學(xué)院，四川外國語大學(xué)國際關(guān)系學(xué)院將依托學(xué)科專業(yè)優(yōu)勢，加大區(qū)域國別學(xué)交叉學(xué)科建設(shè)和適應(yīng)內(nèi)陸開放型人才培養(yǎng)改革力度，為西部陸海新通道和重慶中西部國際交往中心建設(shè)提供國際化、復(fù)合型人才支持；依托重慶地區(qū)最有競爭力專業(yè)師資優(yōu)勢和智庫聯(lián)盟跨學(xué)科、國際化高端智庫人才優(yōu)勢，為陸海新通道沿線國家高質(zhì)量發(fā)展提供融合理論高度與實踐深度于一體的智力支持；依托信息技術(shù)賦能新文科建設(shè)契機，建設(shè)“西部陸海新通道大數(shù)據(jù)研究平臺”，全球范圍內(nèi)實時獲取開源數(shù)據(jù)，適配權(quán)威算法模型和數(shù)據(jù)分析工具模型，搭建研究機構(gòu)、政府部門、市場主體信息、資源、成果共享平臺，服務(wù)陸海新通道沿線國家開放發(fā)展。

圖/受訪者提供