Themed "Whence and Whither -- Unprecedented Changes in the World and China and the CPC", 2021 Understanding China Conference (Guangzhou), scheduled from Dec. 1 to 4 in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, has attracted nearly 80 celebrated figures from the global political, academic and economic communities. A total of 12 successive parallel forums were held as a way of encouraging a vigorous exchange of global minds, with a focus on how to offer a more permanent solution to the pressing challenges and grave risks the world is facing. "Because we are confronting huge global challenges that require global solutions from the cooperation we need on climate change and addressing global financial instability to the cooperation now required to eradicate global poverty, protectionism, nuclear proliferation and pandemics," said former British prime minister James Gordon Brown. Martin Jacques, a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, said the success of the CPC lies in its ability to demonstrate and elucidate the Chinese civilization. He added that the Party's development has undergone a prolonged process, rather than an overnight sensation, and it has improved itself through constant reforms. Alex Wang, a professor and co-director at the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the University of California, Los Angeles, said China has a lot of experience in areas such as solar power, electric vehicles and batteries, and cooperation can help both China and the world in improving sharing and the acceleration of action on the climate. "Cooperation" is the most urgent and strongest call in the conference. This can be seen in topics like cooperation on COVID-19, the layout of global industrial chains, the realization of the goal of carbon neutrality and emission peak, worldwide infrastructure development and connectivity, and the alignment of the international business environment. Addressing the international conference via video link, Pascal Lamy, former director-general of the World Trade Organization, pointed out that the vaccine gap, digital divide, carbon emissions gap and wealth disparity still pose severe challenges and risks to global peace and development. He said that, if the assessment of these various risks and challenges is correct, then there is no choice but to address them by working together even harder. Attendees of the event widely echoed the view and called for more international cooperation. This is the third time Guangzhou has played host to the grand event. And not long ago, the dynamic southern Chinese city saw the opening of an unprecedented international trade fair (Canton Fair) held online and offline that drew hundreds of thousands of overseas buyers and an impressive award ceremony of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation. All these elements that a host of exciting events brought to the historic city have just made it all the more diverse and dynamic. Source: 2021 Understanding China Conference (Guangzhou)