On August 9, 2026, Wang Huiyao, founder of the globalization think tank (CCG), met with Mai Qi'an (Alistair Michie), Secretary General of the British East Asia Commission and winner of the "Friendship Award" of the Chinese government in Edinburgh, UK. The two sides exchanged views on the current international situation, Sino-British relations, the development of globalization and the new challenges facing global governance, and focused on reviewing the English-language book "Consensus or Conflict?-China and Globalization in the 21st Century" (Consensus or Conflict? China and Globalization in the 21st Century) co-planned and edited by Wang Huiyao and Mai Qi'an in 2021, and conducted an in-depth discussion on the evolution of the international situation in the five years since the book's publication and its practical implications.

During the exchange, Wang Huiyao and Mai Qi'an reviewed the original intention of jointly planning and editing "Consensus or Conflict? -- China and Globalization in the 21st Century" five years ago. In 2021, Wang Huiyao is conducting continuous thinking and research on the trend of globalization in the 21st century, and released the Chinese book "China and Globalization in the 21st Century". At the same time, in the face of the increasingly prominent differentiation and opposition in the international community, Wang Huiyao and Mai Qi'an jointly planned and edited the English book "Consensus or Conflict? -- China and Globalization in the 21st Century" (Consensus or Conflict? China and Globalization in the 21st Century) from a more international and diversified perspective. Both books focus on the important proposition of where globalization will go in the 21st century, and also reflect their continuous thinking on the prospect of globalization and the trend of international order at a time when the global pattern is accelerating.

In 2021, the neo-crowning epidemic is still spreading around the world, Sino-US relations are becoming increasingly tense, protectionism, populism and anti-globalization are on the rise, international cooperation mechanisms are under increasing pressure, and the world is entering a more uncertain and risky stage: if countries fail to find common interests, rebuild mutual trust and form a new international consensus in a timely manner, competition may further evolve into confrontation and differences may eventually lead to conflict. In this context, consensus or conflict? -- China and Globalization in the 21st Century ", inviting international dignitaries, Nobel Prize winners, well-known scholars, entrepreneurs and heads of international organizations from different countries and different political and academic backgrounds to participate in the discussion, hoping to transcend a single country and a single position. From a global perspective, explore whether the international community will move towards" consensus "or" conflict "in the 21st century, and how to reform global governance and restore international cooperation to avoid further division of the world.

Wang Huiyao said that looking back at these issues raised in 2021 today, we can feel their practical significance. Consensus or Conflict? was completed before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, when the international community was already showing a trend of intensified geopolitical competition, weakening international mechanisms and declining mutual trust among major powers. At that time, the book put forward the proposition of "consensus or conflict", which itself hoped that the international community could find consensus again in the context of widening differences, so as to cooperate to avoid confrontation and prevent conflicts with common interests. However, in the following years, the international situation has developed in a worrying direction to a considerable extent: although the international community has constantly called for peace, dialogue and cooperation, geopolitical crises such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have broken out one after another, and the competition among great powers has become more prominent. the global security environment has further deteriorated. In this sense, the development of reality confirms the risk warned in this book that year-when the international community cannot form an effective consensus in time, mutual trust continues to be lost, and the dialogue mechanism continues to weaken, "conflict" may evolve from a risk. Reality.

Consensus or Conflict?-China and Globalization in the 21st Century, co-edited by Wang Huiyao and Mai Qi'an, and published by Springer in August 2021, is a key work in CCG's "China and Globalization" English book series. The book has more than 400 pages and 35 articles on global governance, climate change, public health, international migration, scientific and technological revolution, financial markets, sustainable development, Sino-US relations and the future international order. The book is published through open access. At present, it has been visited more than 500000 times on the Springer Nature platform and won the "2022 China New Development Award(2022 China New Development Award)" by Springer Nature Group ".

The book brings together 35 internationally influential authors, including Amitav Acharya, Distinguished Professor of International Affairs at American University, Robert D. Atkinson, Founder and President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Shaukat Aziz, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Jean-Christophe Bas, Compass CEO of The Global, dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration of Shandong University and Professor of Tsinghua University Daniel A. Bell, CCG Senior Economist David Blair, Dean of the Liu Institute of Chinese Studies at King's College London Kerry Brown, Sir Keith Burnett, Chairman of Hang Lung Group Ronnie C. Chan, Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute Wendy Cutler, ARM co-founder Hermann Hauser, former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, British scholar Martin Jacques, Masahiro Kawai, FutureMap founder Parag Khanna, former Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grzegorz W. Kołodko, pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Jeffrey Lehman, Executive Vice President of New York University Shanghai, liu Yuanli, Carlos Lopes, Kishore Mahbubani, Peter Maurer, James G. McGann, Miao Green, McQian, Cambridge Professor Peter Nolan, Harvard Professor Joseph S. Nye Jr., Jim O'Neill, 2006 winner Edmund Phelps (Edmund Phelps), Sir Anthony Seldon (Sir), Denis F. Simon (Denis F. Simon), S4 Capital founder Sir Martin (Sorrell), Wang Huiyao, Vladimir Yakunin (Vladimir Yakunin) and former Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Finance Zhu Guangyao, presents an international cast of authors across different countries, fields and ideological positions. According to the catalogue of the Springer, the book contains 35 chapters, and the author covers many fields such as international relations, economy, public health, science and technology, education and global governance.

"Consensus or Conflict?" has also received high praise and recommendation from many international political, academic and business celebrities:

"Multilateral cooperation is essential to address the many challenges we face today, including combating the neo-crowning epidemic, addressing climate change and advancing sustainable development. This book is very useful for understanding rapidly changing and closely interconnected global economies and societies."

-Sir Danny Alexander, Vice President of the AIIB and former Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury

"If anyone still questions whether we are living in an interconnected and globalized world, think about the effects of global warming, the COVID-19 pandemic and social media, among others. To live in such a world, we must embrace free and open dialogue between peoples and nations. This collection explores the causes and solutions to some of the current problems. To do justice to the world today, this book is a must-read."

-Sir Peter Bonfield, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Chairman of NXP Semiconductors

"If we are to negotiate peacefully for the next decade, it is not enough to engage in trade and geostrategic competition with China. We need to further deepen our understanding of China. This collection of views from across the political spectrum is very helpful in understanding China."

-Sir Andrew Cahn, former chief executive of UK Trade and Investment

"The rise of China has triggered a change in the global landscape that has not been seen since the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Anyone who wants to understand and benefit from these changes needs to have a deep understanding of China's thousands of years of complex governance experience. This outstanding collection of influential articles is the key to understanding China."

-Tim Clissold, author of the global bestseller China

"I wish this book a success and hope it will give people a fairer view of China."

-Sir Angus Deaton, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economics;
Anne Case, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University

"There is no doubt that the world is changing. In the face of the dramatic changes in the global governance ecosystem, capital markets and business environment, as well as other changes on the horizon, purely rules-based solutions have not kept pace with the changes. In this emerging new world order, China's role is little known. Any effort to help clarify misreadings of China should be welcomed."

-Jon Geldart, Chairman of the British Institute of Directors

"A rising China has very different values, history and political system from us, but at the same time has huge common economic interests. For a medium-sized Western democracy like Britain, managing relations with such a superpower is likely to be one of the biggest challenges of the next three decades. This collection of essays will help to understand the controversy."

-Lord Philip Hammond, former Chancellor of the Exchequer

"This collection of essays is original, covers a wide range of topics and is instructive. The relationship between China and the West is one of the most important in modern geopolitics. The authors of this book have contributed rich and profound ideas on how to approach the future of Sino-Western relations."

-Rana Mitter, Professor of Contemporary Chinese History and Politics at Oxford University, author of The Forgotten Ally

"The world is not flat… To succeed and defend itself in an increasingly interconnected world, countries and economies must embrace change and be more tolerant of different cultures and ideologies. Addressing global climate change undoubtedly requires the cooperation of all countries to ensure the survival and livelihood of future generations ...... Therefore, it is essential to form a global consensus on such major issues. This book provides compelling insights into the future role of China, the world's second-largest economy ...... In this regard, this is a must-read."

-Sir John Peace, Chairman of the Midlands Engine Project, and former Chairman of Standard Chartered, Ibero and Burberry

"The world, especially the West, must recognize that the global economic, political and military dynamics are changing, and we must engage China in a balanced, pragmatic way that rejects ideological differences. This is critical to cooperating in the short and long term to address major global economic, climate and health challenges. This book will help understand the important dialogue with China."

-Sir Mike Rake, former president of the British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CBI)

"The West's global dominance is declining, and what role will China play in this emerging world? This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand this. This book builds a sound framework for understanding the changes in political, economic and military power in the transition."

-John Russell, Chairman, Henderson Far East Income (Henderson Far East Income Limited)

In order to promote the further dissemination of the book's views to Chinese readers, "Consensus or Conflict?-China and Globalization in the 21st Century" will be released in Chinese in 2023 and published by Foreign Language Press. The Chinese version continues the core discussion on global governance, great power relations and the future of globalization in English, hoping to provide reference for Chinese readers to understand the changes in the current international pattern through the multiple perspectives of experts and scholars from different countries.

From the question of "consensus or conflict" raised in 2021 to the more complex geopolitical environment faced by the international community today, this proposition has not only not become outdated, but has become more urgent. The more turbulent the world is, the greater the need to maintain communication; the more prominent the differences are, the greater the need to find common interests. In the future, the international community needs to further play the role of think tanks, scholars and non-governmental exchanges, build more understanding and mutual trust among different countries and civilizations, reduce the risk of conflict by expanding consensus, and find a more stable, inclusive and sustainable development path for globalization and global governance.

The "China and Globalization (China and Globalization)" English book series is an important international publishing project launched by the Globalization Think Tank (CCG) and Springer Nature for a long time, with Wang Huiyao and Miao Lu as chief editors. This series focuses on major issues such as China and globalization, China's participation in global governance, global economy and development, international security, and China's relations with major countries in the world. It aims to help the international community understand China and the globalization process by gathering voices from different countries, different fields and different positions. Provide a more diverse, balanced and constructive perspective. The series has brought together more than 200 authors and contributors from all over the world, including international dignitaries, diplomats, Nobel Prize winners, well-known scholars, think tank experts and heads of multinational enterprises. The international celebrities who participated in the publication and cooperation of this series include Angus Deaton (Angus Deaton), Edmund Phelps (Edmund Phelps), American political scientists Graham Allison (Graham Allison), Joseph S. Nye Jr. (Joseph S. Nye Jr.), a senior Singapore diplomat (Kishore Mahbubani), Pascal Lamy (Pascal Lamy), former Director-General of the World Trade Organization, etc.

Consensus or Conflict:

http://www.ccg.org.cn/archives/76215

Consensus or Conflict:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-5391-9

"China and Globalization" English book series:

https://link.springer.com/series/16735