The second Budapest Eurasia Forum, hosted by the Central Bank of Hungary in partnership with Fudan Development Institute and Shanghai Forum, addressed the theme of "Eurasian Cooperation in the Post-pandemic Era."
Held online on October 27, Professor Jin Li, Executive Vice President of Fudan University and Dean of Shanghai Medical College, and Professor Chen Zhimin, Vice President of Fudan University, participated in forum meetings.
Professor Jin Li contributed to discussion on "Smart cities for a healthy future： Innovation in urbanization and the importance of digital literacy."
He focused on how Shanghai’s local government utilized “smart city” infrastructure to ensure a heathy and safe environment for citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic. He said a smart city will lead to a healthier city and only a healthy city can keep the city economically dynamic and attractive to business. He also emphasized that not only policymakers and entrepreneurs, but also citizens should collectively engage in projects to make a city smart, as their future quality of life is at stake.
Professor Jin Li, Executive Vice President of Fudan University and Dean of Shanghai Medical College
Professor Chen Zhimin engaged in full discussion with high-level experts from all over the world in the forum titled "The rise of Eurasia – How Covid-19 may reshape geopolitics and multilateral cooperation.” In his view, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a serious disruption to the normal international relations. Meanwhile, he thinks we should not over-exaggerate the impacts of this disruption. During the pandemic, we witness China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI）
expanding to include the joint construction of digital, health and green silk roads, further demonstrating the importance of cooperation in the Eurasia.
Professor Chen Zhimin, Vice President of Fudan University participated in forum meetings
The forum was opened under the auspices of György H Matolcsy, Governor of the Central Bank of Hungary. High-level experts from China, Russia, Singapore, Kazakhstan and other countries also discussed balanced and sustainable growth changes, and future prospects for Eurasia in the post-pandemic period.
The forum called on Eurasian countries and regions to unite more closely and promote further opening-up. Experts at the meetings believed that Covid-19 had brought unprecedented challenges and highlighted the importance of unity and cooperation among countries. Despite the obstacles of the epidemic, China-EU cooperation and dialogue should continue, they agreed.
In recent years, Fudan University has maintained a valuable cooperative relationship with the Central Bank of Hungary. The two sides have had close exchange leadership visits, and the Hungarian Central Bank has supported Fudan University’s School of Economics setting up a master degree program in Budapest, capital city of Hungary. It also actively supports Fudan in establishing an overseas campus in the city. In 2019, Professor Xu Ningsheng, President of Fudan University, led a delegation to participate in the first Budapest Eurasia Forum.