On July 21st, the inaugural meeting of the Network on International Trade and Investment System (NITIS) was successfully held in Conference Room 205, Block A, Global Exchange and Experience Center (GEEC) of UIBE. Participants included Chen Deming, former Minister of Commerce, Yi Xiaozhun, former Deputy Director-General of WTO, Xia Wenbin, President of UIBE, Zhang Xiangchen, Deputy Director-General of the WTO, Li Chenggang, Chinese Ambassador to WTO, Chong Quan, President of CWTO, Zhang Shaogang, Vice President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Yang Zhengwei, Director of Political Research Office of Ministry of Commerce, Wang Zhen, Deputy Negotiator of WTO Department of Ministry of Commerce, Zhang Yuejiao, Former Judge of WTO Appellate Body, Li Yihong, Minister of China’s Mission to the WTO, Xu Qingjun, Counsellor of China’s Mission to the WTO, Dean Zhao Longyue at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Dean Zhang Lei at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Dean Kong Qingjiang at China University of Political Science and Law, Dean Peng Delei at East China University of Science and Technology, Professor Ji Wenhua and Professor Chen Weidong at University of International Business and Economics, and Xue Ying, Partner of GEN Law Firm. Nearly 100 guests, including heads of the ministries and commissions under the State Council, experts and scholars from well-known domestic universities, and representatives of enterprises, attended the meeting online or offline. The conference was presided by Tu Xinquan, Secretary General of the Network on International Trade and Investment System (NITIS) and Dean of CIWTO.

The Network on International Trade and Investment System (NITIS), initiated by UIBE, aims to bring together domestic senior experts and scholars from relevant fields to carry out academic research and extensive international and domestic academic exchanges of views on major practical problems in global governance of trade and investment and China's opening up. It provides strong academic support for domestic policy decision making and interprets China's policy propositions and successful practices to the world, explores China's wisdom, forms China's proposals, and conveys China’s voice. The research network is an informal and unincorporated academic group, with Yi Xiaozhun, former Chinese ambassador to the WTO and former deputy director-general of the WTO, as the general counsel; with Tu Xinquan, Dean of CIWTO, as the secretary general. Besides, there is a research assistant and an administrative assistant to aid the general counsel and the secretary-general. The research network will be open to all senior scholars, experts and institutions who have rich experience in global economic and trade governance as well as China's opening up. It covers international trade, international economic law, international politics, country-specific economic and trade policy studies and other related disciplines, and its members will include university professors, researchers, former government officials, representatives of enterprises and industry associations, media staff and people from other relevant institutions.

In the future, NITIS will build a bridge between domestic policy-making departments and the academia, focusing on these four areas: (1) Organize research projects on key and difficult issues of economic and trade governance of China and the world, write consultation reports, academic papers and submit them to relevant decision-making departments for reference or to journals for publication; (2) Organize and participate in offline or online domestic and international academic events, discuss related issues as well as disseminate China's proposition; (3) Invite experts from the WTO and related institutions at home and abroad to deliver online and offline academic presentations and lectures; (4) Undertake the commissioned research of relevant government departments and coordinate appropriate network members to lead the projects.

Translator: ZHANG Xiangyi

Reviewer: DU Yingxin