On 18-19 November 2016, the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) invited MFU Vice President, Assist. Prof. Dr. Romyen Kosaikanont to participate in the international think-tank forum: “Building the Community of Common Destiny between China and its Neighbors: Challenges and the Future” organized by the National Institute of Global Strategy (NIGS), which is a part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.
Assist. Prof. Dr. Romyen participated in the forum as one of Thailand’s representatives who has expertise and knowledge in the fields of security, economics and cultural cooperation. She is also known as a scholar who has conducted research about China in various dimensions.
This forum for the NIGS and regionally important think-tanks from other countries surrounding China aimed to discuss and present ideas in five sessions focused on opportunities and challenges; economic cooperation; prospect and policy suggestions; security cooperation; and cultural cooperation. Furthermore, it intended to promote cooperation to propel the process of the construction of the Community of Common Destiny between China and its neighbors.
In the conference, China proposed the idea of Community of Common Destiny which was established due to recent trends in globalization. Because many countries are facing similar problems to those faced in China, the concept of cooperation with neighbours based on mutual benefits was highlighted. China also reasserted that this community is different from others as it is based on a principle of Peaceful Coexistence. In other words, China will never seek hegemony or a sphere of influence, but it will continue to create a closer network of common interests instead.
Assist. Prof. Dr. Romyen expressed that the ideas of Community of Common Destiny and Peaceful Coexistence create challenges for the world’s architecture which, according to China’s references, includes the UN, WTO, World Bank and IMF. On the whole, scholars must consider this issue togetherใ
She also said that “The Community of Common Destiny will be most beneficial when it has a clear definition. Neighbouring countries must have an opportunity to jointly define what common destiny is, based on their distinctive characteristics. Also, China should take the role of coordinator rather than leader to helppropel the concepts of flexibility, inclusiveness and equality in the community. Lastly, we have to be aware that polarization throughout the globe is developing.”
