November 22th

On the 4th day of RCSS X, the participants met with Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the “Russia in Global Affairs” magazine, Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, research director of the “Valdai” International Discussion Club and a research professor from Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE. 

The topic of his speech was “China as the new superpower”, however, other topics were also covered within the discussion, namely global changes during the pandemic and new opportunities for the international relations secialist.

Today China is more and more often referred to as a new superpower. First of all, China’s potential as a trading partner of many large economies, the rapid development of innovations and technologies, as well as military might are noted. The pandemic has become an important stage in the country's development as a superpower: from accusations of the spread of the virus coming from the US to the status of a country that was able to control the spread of infection in the most efficient way (according to WHO). 

Changes in the system of international relations have begun long before the pandemic. However, the pandemic has served as the catalyst of all the processes we are witnessing now. The question of when the world will open up again, as Professor Lukyanov supposes, shows the most important change – today every state makes the decision on this issue individually, instead of taking collective action. Among the positive aspects of the current pandemic the expert noted the opportunity to reform an economy, detach from the global market and create an unique development formula for countries that are experiencing difficulties. This would be especially relevant for non-Western world. 

Mr. Lukyanov has also discussed with the participants the new opportunities that have opened up for international relations specialists, such as more information channels, better accessibility to academic discussions throughout the world. All these are the possibilities about which previous generation could only read in the books, they allow us to gain unprecedented experience in the analysis and perception of various events.

Apart from the obvious drawbacks, the current year has its positive aspects. Fyodor Lukyanov has expressed his regret about the fact, that the school is not held offline this year. At the same time, looking at the list of participants, he admitted that the online format allows to gather more people and diversify the geography.

After the lecture, the cultural evening, the one of the brightest school’s events, was held. The organizers and volunteers prepared quizzes about Russian culture, its remarkable sights, music, celebrities, and language for the participants. The participants themselves prepared performances, e.g. tours to home cities and universities, violin and guitar performances etc. 

It was officially the first online cultural evening in the school’s history, and the experience was successful. We hope to see and hear everyone in person next year!