Officials and experts from around the world have stressed the importance of strengthening exchanges between different legal systems to build mutual trust and address shared global challenges, thereby promoting peace, stability, and development worldwide. These remarks were made at the 2026 Conference on Exchanges and Mutual Learning of The Rule of Law of Civilizations, held in Beijing over the weekend. The two-day event was organized by the China University of Political Science and Law.
The seminar brought together legal professionals from over 150 domestic and international colleges and organizations. More than 50 international guests from 22 countries, including 20 participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, attended the conference, fostering a strong bond of mutual learning and coordinated development, with the rule of law serving as a crucial link.
During the conference, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn highlighted China”s role as a key partner in ASEAN’s judicial cooperation, noting that the ASEAN-China relationship exemplifies mutual learning in practice. He stated that the conference has not only strengthened legal systems but also reinforced the foundations of peace, stability, and shared prosperity. ASEAN plans to enhance regional legal exchanges, reinforce the rule of law, promote good governance, and uphold a rules-based order while deepening partnerships and learning from allies like China, he added.
Antonio Herman Benjamin, a justice of Brazil’s National High Court, emphasized that the core purpose of law is to ensure fairness, justice, welfare for the people, social security, protection of the vulnerable, and care for the environment. He said that dialogue across legal systems and cultures of the rule of law, supported by open and sincere cooperation, helps build trust, address global challenges, and advance justice worldwide.
Jiang Zeting, Party Secretary of the China University of Political Science and Law, called for steering global governance with the rule of law at the international level, building broad consensus through exchange and mutual learning, and bridging legal theory with practice through academic innovation. He proposed developing rule-of-law talents with a focus on practical skills and strengthening governance foundations through capacity-building. He also urged all parties to collaborate, share insights, and combine their strengths to create a powerful synergy for the exchange and mutual enrichment of rule-of-law civilizations.
Legal talent education was also a hot issue during the conference. Yu Yingjie, secretary of the Education Working Committee of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee, emphasized the need to advance Chinese modernization through the cultivation of high-caliber rule-of-law talents and the production of high-quality legal research outcomes.
“It’s essential to nurture top-tier legal professionals and strengthen legal scholarship in the new era, as well as to deepen opening-up, and expand international cooperation in the rule of law,” he said.
Xie Jing, deputy governor of Hainan province, revealed that the Ministry of Justice, the Hainan government, and the China University of Political Science and Law are jointly building a China-ASEAN college, aiming to support China’s neighborhood diplomacy and boost the Hainan Free Trade Port’s opening-up and cooperation with ASEAN. “We look forward to joint efforts in cultivating legal professionals to create a highland of foreign-related rule-of-law expertise, and in conducting rule-related research to serve the broader development landscape,” Xie said.
