More than 260 former world leaders, business delegates, experts, and scholars attended the 2019 Imperial Springs International Forum in south China's Guangzhou and shared their views on mutual understanding and global cooperation.

In the second half of the last century, China ended its years-long isolation and established diplomatic relationships with Western nations one after another. However, new issues and frictions have surfaced as relations developed deeper.

CGTN's Dialogue program spoke to Neil Bush, the son of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush and chairman of the Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, and Nathalie de Gaulle, the great-granddaughter of former French President Charles de Gaulle and president of NB-INOV for insight.

China-U.S. relationship 'intertwined'

Bush said that although there is still uncertainty about the trade tensions between China and the U.S., he's positive about where the ties are headed. "The relationship is so intertwined that we have so much that we share in common than what divides us."

He also expressed concern that some of those working in the White House are belligerent to China and hope it fails as a state and its economy crumbles. However, communication and dialogue are a positive sign.

"If you look at the recent history of U.S.-China relations, we've had bumps in the road, and every time, there's a dip, and when you come out of the dip, we have a stronger deeper relationship, because of the conversations and dialogues that take place," said Bush.

Cooperation is key for long-term tech advancement

France was the first Western country to establish diplomatic ties with China. Then French President Charles de Gaulle made significant contributions in opening a new chapter between China and France in 1964.

As protectionism and multilateralism rise in today's world, Nathalie de Gaulle expressed belief that multilateralism is not dead, and no country can single-handedly meet all the new challenges, such as climate change and workforce challenge brought by artificial intelligence.

Cooperation is the key in technology advancement. As the U.S. is calling Europe to block Huawei on 5G, she thinks that setting rules is clearly more important than singling out any country as a "threat." Fighting and competing may work in the short term, but cooperation goes much longer in technology development, she noted.

Dialogue with Yang Rui is a prime time daily English talk show on CGTN. The 30-minute talk show covers a wide range of domestic and international topics, providing a balanced and critical perspective on current affairs and analysis within the framework of cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary comparisons. 

Schedule: Monday-Sunday
Time (GMT): 0330, 1130, 1930

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