The World Peace Forum was established in 2012. It is China’s first high-level, non-governmental international security forum, organized by Tsinghua University and the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, and hosted by the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University. In 2013, the forum has been institutionalized and scheduled to take place every summer. Its aim is to provide a platform for policymakers and think tank experts from around the world to discuss international security issues, explore ways to address global and regional security threats, enhance international security cooperation, and engage in dialogue on major issues of global concern.

The forum was founded under the chairmanship of former State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan. Its current chairman is Li Luming, President of Tsinghua University, while Yang Bin, Vice Chair of Tsinghua University’s University Council, serves as the forum’s Secretary-General.

The 1st World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 7 to 8, 2012. Then Vice President of China Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. Seven former foreign dignitaries also attended the forum and addressed the plenary session: Alan García, former President of Peru; Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France; Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan; Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former Prime Minister of Malaysia; Igor Ivanov, former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia; Javier Solana Madariaga, former Secretary-General of NATO; and Yukio Hatoyama, former Prime Minister of Japan.The inaugural forum featured 3 plenary sessions, 3 luncheon/dinner keynote speeches (including one delivered by then Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Yang Jiechi), and 18 panel discussions. The panel topics were jointly designed by Tsinghua University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, and the sessions were chaired by foreign ambassadors to China. A total of 150 participants attended the forum, including heads of think tanks from 21 countries, ambassadors to China from 43 countries, as well as Chinese scholars and entrepreneurs. According to incomplete statistics, in addition to Chinese media outlets, 42 media organizations from 21 countries reported on the event.

The 2nd World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from June 27 to 28, 2013, under the theme “International Security in a Changing World: Peace Development Innovation.” Vice President of China Li Yuanchao delivered an important speech titled “Working Together for Peace and Security.” Foreign dignitaries and former leaders also delivered keynote speeches and answered questions, including President Koroma of Sierra Leone, President Bouterse of Suriname, Deputy Secretary-General Zhalolov of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, former Prime Ministers Badawi of Malaysia, Aziz of Pakistan, de Villepin of France, Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, former U.S. National Security Advisor Brzezinski, former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Ivanov, and former Secretary-General of the European Council and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union Solana. Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi delivered a keynote speech at the luncheon session.The forum featured 18 thematic panels and 8 press conferences, and was attended by nearly 130 officials from embassies in China and 30 heads of foreign think tanks. Compared with the previous year, the second forum saw an increase in participation by current political leaders, in addition to many former dignitaries. Among the participating Chinese and international think tank representatives, over 40 had held positions at or above the vice-ministerial level. There was also a notable increase in diplomatic presence, with over 60 ambassadors to China attending the event. This year’s forum demonstrated significant progress not only in the level and scale of participation, but also in its collaborative and global character.

The 3rd World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from June 21 to 22, 2014. State Councilor of China Yang Jiechi attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger sent a video message to the forum. Former political leaders from various countries delivered keynote speeches and answered questions, including former Prime Ministers Badawi of Malaysia, Aziz of Pakistan, de Villepin of France, Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, former U.S. National Security Advisor Hadley, former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Ivanov, and former Secretary-General of the European Council and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union Javier Solana. More than 30 ambassadors to China, 35 renowned foreign think tank scholars, and 25 prominent Chinese experts and scholars attended the forum. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Zhang Yesui and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the PLA of China Sun Jianguo attended the luncheon and delivered speeches. After the forum, 64 foreign media outlets published 61 articles (excluding television coverage). Compared to the previous forum, both the number of participating media and the volume of reports increased significantly. The known languages of media coverage included English, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Turkish, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Persian, among others.

The 4th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from June 27 to 28, 2015. Vice President of China Li Yuanchao attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech titled “Jointly Building a Community of Shared Peace and Security for Humanity.” Former State Councilor and Chairman of the World Peace Forum Tang Jiaxuan delivered a welcome address. President of Tsinghua University Qiu Yong presided over the opening ceremony.The theme of the 4th forum was “Overcome Difficulties: Understanding, Consultation, and Reciprocity.” The forum brought together eight former political leaders, including former President of Indonesia Susilo, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Aziz, former Prime Minister of France de Villepin, former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Ivanov, former U.S. National Security Advisor Hadley, former High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union Solana, and former Foreign Secretary of India Shyam Saran. In addition, the forum was attended by 45 ambassadors to China, 48 Chinese experts and 40 foreign experts on international security, and representatives from 53 embassies in China.Within 20 days of the forum’s opening, 175 news articles were published by domestic and international media outlets. Among them, 85 were from foreign media—26 more than in 2014, marking a 39.3% increase. Mainstream international media, including The Washington Post, Cable News Network (CNN), National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Agence France-Presse, Kyodo News, Reuters, and RIA Novosti, covered the event extensively.

The 5th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 16 to 17, 2016. The theme of the forum was “Cooperation, Inclusiveness, and Open-access.” Vice Premier of China Liu Yandong attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Five former political leaders delivered keynote addresses, including former Prime Ministers Aziz of Pakistan, Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, de Villepin of France, former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Kokoshin, and former High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union Solana. In addition, 35 ambassadors to China and more than 70 Chinese and foreign think tank experts participated in the forum.The forum featured 3 plenary speeches, 2 plenary discussions, 3 luncheon addresses, 23 panel discussions, and 6 press conferences. A total of 301 news reports were published by 75 media outlets from 28 countries, making it the most extensively covered forum by foreign media to date.

The 6th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from June 24 to 25, 2017. Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, Arken Imirbaki, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Former State Councilor and Chairman of the World Peace Forum Tang Jiaxuan delivered a welcome address, and President of Tsinghua University Qiu Yong presided over the opening ceremony.The theme of the forum was “On Challenges to International Security: Joint Efforts, Responsibility, and Reform.” Former President of Afghanistan Karzai, former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Thailand Surakiart, former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Ivanov, Senior Advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran Kharazi, former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Khokhar, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia Carr, and former Ministers for Foreign Affairs of South Korea Kim Sung-hwan and Yoon Young-kwan were among the former political leaders who attended and delivered speeches. The forum was also attended by 41 ambassadors to China and 36 Chinese experts and 32 foreign experts on international security.The forum featured 2 plenary speeches, 2 plenary discussions, 3 luncheon addresses, 21 panel discussions, and 6 press conferences. During the forum, 52 media outlets from 17 countries and regions published 130 reports, generating widespread international impact.

The 7th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 14 to 15, 2018. Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Four former foreign political leaders participated in the forum, including former Prime Minister of Pakistan Aziz, former President of the European Council Van Rompuy, former President of Afghanistan Karzai, and former President of the European Commission Barroso. In addition, 73 foreign guests from 23 countries delivered speeches during the forum, marking a record high. A total of 44 ambassadors to China and representatives from 65 embassies in China also attended.The forum featured 2 keynote speeches, 2 plenary discussions, 2 luncheon addresses, 6 press conferences, and 26 panel discussions. According to the Forum Secretariat, 315 reports on the event were published in 25 languages by 112 foreign media outlets from 33 countries and regions, as well as 34 domestic media organizations. Both the number of reports and the total number of participating media reached record highs, significantly enhancing the international influence of the Forum.

The 8th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 8 to 9, 2019, under the theme “Stabilizing the World Order: Common Responsibilities, Joint Management, and Shared Benefits.” The forum featured 1 opening ceremony, 3 keynote speeches, 1 plenary discussion, 1 luncheon address, 4 press conferences, and 22 panel discussions.Vice President of China Wang Qishan attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Several former international political leaders participated in the forum, including former President of Indonesia and Chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Megawati, former President of Afghanistan Karzai, former Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong, former President of the European Council Van Rompuy, and former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Ivanov. A total of 116 foreign guests attended, setting a new record for participation. Among them, 47 ambassadors to China attended the forum, with 15 of them delivering speeches—the highest number in the forum’s history. According to incomplete post-event statistics, 423 reports about the forum were published in 34 languages by 179 foreign media outlets from 45 countries and regions, as well as 34 domestic media organizations. Both the total number of reports and the diversity of media formats reached record highs. Within the measurable scope, forum-related videos garnered a total of 3 million views, with a single video reaching a peak of 1 million views.

The Special Video Conference of the World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from June 16 to 17, 2020, under the theme “Post-Pandemic Era:China and the World” All four panel discussions were livestreamed in Chinese and English. The sessions attracted over 5 million online views, with more than 14 million comment interactions. Former political leaders who joined the conference online included former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd and former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Surakiart.

The 9th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 2 to 4, 2021, under the theme “International Security Cooperation in the Post-Pandemic Era: Upholding and Practicing Multilateralism.” State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.The forum featured 27 sessions, including 1 press briefing, 3 keynote speeches, 2 plenary panels, 16 offline panel discussions, and 5 online panel discussions. These events were conducted in three formats: in-person, fully virtual, and hybrid meetings.Former international leaders who delivered keynote speeches online included former Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, former President of the European Council Van Rompuy, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Surakiart, former Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong, and former President of Afghanistan Karzai.The forum received unprecedented attention online. By July 11, one week after the forum concluded, related video content had been viewed more than 5.9 billion times, with headline exposures exceeding 2.7 billion. The sessions featuring State Councilor Wang Yi and the dialogue among ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council triggered extensive domestic and international engagement, reaching a combined view count of over 800 million.The number of Chinese and foreign language reports about this year’s forum reached a record high. A total of 214 media outlets and platforms published 558 reports in 32 languages, including 308 in foreign languages. Major international media such as Reuters, The Economist, and RT (Russia Today) actively registered to participate in and report on the forum. In both quantity and quality, this year’s World Peace Forum attracted more global attention than ever before.

The 10th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 2 to 4, 2022, under the theme “Preserving International Stability: Commonality, Comprehensiveness and Cooperation.” The forum featured 1 press briefing, 4 plenary panels, 1 luncheon speech, and 16 panel discussions, conducted through both in-person and hybrid formats.The international influence generated by this edition of the forum reached the highest level since its inception. Leading domestic and international media outlets, government institutions, and official platforms of foreign embassies in China provided comprehensive, in-depth, and multi-perspective coverage of the forum, resulting in 315 reports published in 18 languages.More than 300 foreign guests—including former political leaders, diplomatic envoys, and renowned scholars—attended the forum. Former leaders who delivered speeches online included former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of France de Villepin, President of the Russian International Affairs Council Ivanov, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Surakiart, former Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Alimov, and former Foreign Minister of Iran and Senior Advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran Kharazi. Of particular note, the forum attracted 57 ambassadors to China from 101 countries—the highest number of ambassadorial participants in the forum’s ten-year history. After the forum concluded, embassies from countries such as the United States, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine, and Croatia sent letters praising the forum’s significance and its fruitful outcomes.

The 11th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 1 to 3, 2023, under the theme “Stabilizing an Unstable World through Consensus and Cooperation.” Vice President of China Han Zheng attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Former President of Brazil Rousseff and former Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Ivanov delivered keynote speeches.The forum featured 1 press briefing, 4 plenary panels, 1 luncheon speech, and 16 panel discussions, conducted through both in-person and hybrid formats. Notably, embassies from 81 countries in China sent representatives to attend the forum, with 55 ambassadors participating in various activities.Prominent domestic and international media outlets extensively covered the forum, publishing over 500 high-quality reports. These included coverage by major media such as the Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Economist, Agence France-Presse, RIA Novosti, TASS, Sputnik, Yonhap News Agency, The Asahi Shimbun, The Nikkei, Al Jazeera, and Chinese outlets including People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Guangming Daily, Jiefang Daily, Economic Daily, and China Media Group. People’s Daily featured 2 forum-related reports on its front page on July 1 and July 3. Altogether, the coverage was published in 22 foreign languages by media organizations spanning all five continents, reflecting the forum’s broad international influence.

The 12th World Peace Forum was held at Tsinghua University from July 5 to 7, 2024, under the theme “Improving Global Security Governance: Justice, Unity, and Cooperation.” Vice President of China Han Zheng attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama, former Prime Minister of France de Villepin, and other former political leaders, along with ambassadors, experts, and scholars from more than 80 countries, totaling over 400 participants, attended the forum.This year’s forum featured 1 press briefing, 6 news conferences, 4 plenary panels, 17 panel discussions, and 1 closed-door roundtable, all conducted in person.Notably, the forum received extensive coverage from official institutions both in China and abroad. Prominent among them were Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the State Council Information Office of China, the Chinese embassies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines, as well as the embassies of Russia, Japan, and Türkiye in China. These governmental and international bodies actively reported on the forum, marking the highest level of official engagement in the forum’s history.In addition, the lineup of mainstream domestic and international media covering the event was further expanded. Leading outlets such as the Associated Press, Bloomberg, RIA Novosti, TASS, Sputnik, Financial Times, Agence France-Presse, Kyodo News, Sankei Shimbun, Associated Press of Pakistan, Indonesia’s Antara News Agency, Italy’s La Repubblica, Spain’s ABC, as well as People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Qiushi Journal, China Central Television, Guangming Daily, and Economic Daily provided comprehensive, in-depth, and multi-perspective coverage. According to incomplete statistics, a total of 167 media organizations published 429 reports in 18 languages, further highlighting the growing international influence of the forum.