The fifth public academic activity “Western China Academic Report Group – Chongqing Trip”, organized by the Institute for China & World Studies of Tongji University, undertaken by the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, and funded by HNA Group, was grandly held in the mountain city of Chongqing on November 1-2, 2017. Tongji Distinguished Professor Men Honghua, Dean of the School of Political Science & International Relations and President of the Institute for China & World Studies, Tongji University, participated in all relevant activities.

On the afternoon of November 1, the opening ceremony and the first symposium were held in the Lecture Hall of the Complex Building, Chongqing Party School, which was attended by Prof. Zhou Tianyong, Vice Dean of the Institute for International Studies of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, Mr. Pu Ming, Chairman of West Air, and Dean Men Honghua, and presided over by Li Hong, Vice President of Chongqing Party School. At the opening ceremony, Chairman Pu Ming delivered a speech entitled “Remain True to our Original Aspiration and Assume our Responsibilities Bravely” on behalf of HNA Group. He briefly reviewed the development history of HNA Group and its support to these activities. Then he said that the group would, guided by the report to the 19th CPC National Congress, continue its cooperation with the governments in Western China including Chongqing to support the Western development. Next, Dean Men explained the profound value and implementation of this academic report group. He discussed the strategic significance of the Western region for China’s development, and reviewed the concrete results of the academic report group since 2010. He expected this event to contribute to the future development of Chongqing in line with its strategic positioning.

In his speech “Adhering to the Policy of Comprehensively Deepening Reform – An Interpretation of the Report to the 19th CPC National Congress”, Prof. Zhou interpreted the inheritance and development of the thought on comprehensively deepening reform in the report to the 19th CPC National Congress, summarized the stages, purposes and characteristics of the efforts in comprehensively deepening reform, explained the content and tasks of the reform, introduced how to plan, evaluate and implement the reform at all levels, and emphasized the importance of building a modern socialist country through reform. Based on his accurate understanding of the spirit of CPC Central Committee and on his in-depth study on national policies, Prof. Zhou strived to contribute viable strategic options for China to successfully avoid the “middle income trap” through both horizontal and vertical theoretical modeling for comprehensively deepening reform in the future. More than 560 students from the main classes of the Chongqing Party School were impressed by the professor’s speech that was informative, logical, vivid and easy to understand, and were also inspired by the strategic design proposed by the professor.

The next morning, Prof. Men was invited to give a lecture entitled “China’s Strategic Response to Global Governance Crisis and Change” for teachers and students of the School of Ethnology, the School of History and Culture, and the School of Political Science and Public Administration, Southwest University. Prof. Men first reviewed the response to the global governance crisis from the historical and theoretical perspectives, followed by a systematic discussion on the current global governance crisis and its strategic response. Together with China’s strategic measures to deal with the global governance crisis, he gave an innovative view on China’s strategic direction to promote the transformation and development of global governance, thus offering suggestions of both academic rationality and policy relevance for China to participate in and lead global governance in the future. In the following Q&A session, Prof. Men answered many questions from the enthusiastic audience.

That afternoon, Prof. Men’s delegation went to visit the headquarters of West Air, as part of the survey led by the professor on the philosophy subject of HNA’s spiritual culture. At the meeting, West Air Chairman Pu Ming first welcomed the delegation, and then briefly introduced HNA’s spiritual culture, West Air’s development history, and his understanding of low-cost airlines. The directors from more than 10 departments of West Air gave presentations about West Air’s achievements and innovations in promoting the low-cost concept, advocating low-carbon travel, and implementing the “Internet Plus” strategy, based on their own work experience and the department responsibilities. After listening to the presentations, Prof. Men spoke highly of HNA’s spiritual culture, and appreciated West Air’s high-efficiency and low-cost operation model. He believed that guided by the HNA spirit and oriented by the market, West Air would remain true to its original aspiration of high standards, excellent services and all-round development in consistent with the technical characteristics of the information age.