On October 27, 2015, the President of the 70th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft visited Peking University (PKU), along with Tomas Anker Christensen, Cheif de Cabinet of the Office of the President, Ulla Oestergaard, Special Media Adviser and Deputy Spokesperson within the Office of the President, Marcus Carter Mathiasen, Special Assistant to the President, and Wen Li, Senior Adviser to the President. They were received by Li Yansong, Vice President of PKU, Xia Hongwei, Director of the Office of International Relations, Fan Shiming, Deputy Dean of the School of International Studies, Zhang Shiqiu, Professor of the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gu Xue, Assistant Director of the Office of International Relations.
Vice President Li Yansong first warmly welcomed the arrival of Mr. Mogens Lykketoft and the accompanying officials, regarding this visit as a “great honor” to PKU. He pointed out that PKU had a long history of international communication, especially with European universities and institutes. Mr. Lykketoft said it was the first time he had ever visited PKU, and he stressed the crucial role of China in the UN, as well as the importance of Chinese universities in getting more involved in international collaboration. Then Mr. Gu Xue specifically introduced the Beijing Forum, which had been brought up by Li Yansong in a previous conversation with Mr. Lykketoft. Sponsored by PKU, the Beijing Board of Education, and the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, the Beijing Forum has been held annually at PKU since 2004. Aiming at promoting the harmony among civilizations and prosperity for all, the forum welcomes scholars in the humanities and social science from all over the world to discuss thoroughly about questions posing in today’s world from perspectives of civilization and culture. In this year’s forum, former President of the Council of Europe, Romano Prodi, eminent professors from Harvard and Cambridge University and many highly recognized persons have been invited to address speeches. Li Yansong extended a sincere invitation to Mr. Lykketoft to attend the Beijing Forum.
At the end of the meeting, Li Yansong presented a book entitled Peking University and the Origins of Higher Education in China to Mr. Lykketoft. After the meeting, Mr. Lykketoft proceeded to give a speech to PKU students.
Written by: Liu Xiya
