On the evening of November 13th, Ambassador Huang Huikang, a Chinese senior diplomat as well as a member of the International Law Commission of the United Nations, gave a lecture on "Ten Questions on China`s Diplomatic Affairs and International Law Hot Issues" to our faculty and students at Law School. Prof. Zhang Naigen hosted the lecture. Vice Dean Prof. Chen Li, Prof. Ma Zhongfa, Associate Professorial Fellow Chen Li, Dr. Zhu Dan and students actively participated in the lecture.

"Those who don`t consider the overall situation can not make plan for a specific task". Ambassador Huang started the lecture with President Xi`s assessment that "the world is facing profound changes of a kind unseen in a century". By analyzing the transfer of world`s economy focus, the comparison of political powers, the development of new technology and the evolution of international governance, Ambassador Huang explained the special nature of the current era and drew the attention of the audience to another topic, which is "the historical position of Chinese diplomacy in the new era". With the combination of statics data and specific examples, Ambassador Huang not only demonstrated the opportunities and challenges that China is facing, but also showed the integrity and confident manner of Chinese diplomacy as well as the consideration of both the global status and the crucial principles.

"Diplomacy with law is an advanced form of diplomacy". After introducing the basic knowledge about Chinese diplomacy under a macro perspective, Ambassador Huang started to analyze certain specific diplomacy topics which are also commonly concerned, such as evaluation of the Trump government, China-U.S. trade war and China`s response to the WTO reform. Ambassador Huang combined these topics with academic studies in international law and demonstrated the deep insight about China`s responsibility in international relations as a big country and the long-term strategy in dealing with international issues. Then Ambassador Huang continued to demonstrate China`s position in hot issues regarding China-North Korea Relations, North Korea Nuclear Issue and victims of the Anti-Japanese War initiating civil claim for compensation against Japan. Moreover, his personal diplomacy experience in the "South China Sea Case" revealed a vivid image of excellent Chinese diplomat who was full of wisdom and equipped with prominent ability.

"Major country`s diplomacy must attach great importance to international law". Ambassador Huang cited the prediction of a foreign minister in Qing Dynasty Li Jiabai to illustrate the crucial significance of international law talents to diplomatic affairs of a country and he encouraged faculty and students to combine the philosophy of diplomacy and law into their academic research. Then he brought up the topic on "New Areas in Diplomacy" to introduces new challenges in international governance, as international competition has extended from traditional land area to new areas such as sea, polar region, outer space and internet. "The competition between countries over legal discourse power has been an indispensable perspective in shaping international order and acquiring institutional power". In the background of an increasing diversity of governance areas, international governance requires international law to provide legal basis, and international law research should focus more on legal order in new areas so as to contribute to establishing an international new order with better justice.

During the interaction part of the lecture, students had an in-depth discussion with Ambassador Huang over academic topics like international marine living resources protection, the role of artificial intelligence in international humanitarian law as well as the daily function of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Huang patiently answered the questions one by one and encouraged young students to exploit the advantage of international law in order to contribute to the country`s diplomacy affairs. The splendid presentation of Ambassador Huang provided students with an extraordinary opportunity to learn both diplomacy and international law. Finally, the lecture ended successfully with the warm applause of the teachers and students.

Correspondents:  Feng Zhongjie  Zhang Yujun