CNS Programs: EANP Training

Tsinghua University Summer Symposium on Arms Control

Beijing, China
August 4-10, 2002

Participants in the inaugural Tsinghua University's
Summer Symposium on Arms Control, August 2002.

Overview

From August 4-10, 2002, Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies (IIS) hosted the inaugural "Tsinghua University Summer Symposium on Arms Control." The Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and the Union of Concerned Scientists co-sponsored the symposium. The symposium's goals included providing training and continuing education on arms control and nonproliferation issues to Chinese graduate students and junior professionals, promoting interest in the study of arms control and nonproliferation in China, and strengthening ties between individuals and organizations in China's arms control community. The symposium included lectures in Chinese and English on a wide range of arms control and nonproliferation issues, policy briefings by Chinese and foreign embassy officials (Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and Japan), site visits to Chinese nuclear, international studies, and defense research institutions, and a simulated multilateral negotiation exercise on the International Code of Conduct against the Proliferation of Ballistic Missiles (ICOC). The Tsinghua symposium is the first seminar in China to bring together participants from the military, academia, and research institutions to focus exclusively on arms control and nonproliferation issues.

Organizers and Sponsors

LI Bin, Director of the Arms Control Program at Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies.
Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies (IIS), led by director Dr. Yan Xuetong, hosted the symposium. Dr. Li Bin, director of the IIS Arms Control Program, organized the symposium with the assistance of Tsinghua University graduate students and staff. The Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and the Union of Concerned Scientists were co-sponsors of the symposium. Dr. Phillip Saunders (Director of the CNS East Asia Nonproliferation Program) and Dr. Jing-dong Yuan (EANP Senior Research Associate) lectured in the symposium, conducted a simulation exercise, and assisted with fund-raising and participant recruiting. Dr. David Wright from the Union of Concerned Scientists lectured on several technical arms control topics. The Ploughshares Fund and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation provided generous financial support for the symposium.

Symposium Participants

Symposium participants included graduate students working on their M.A. or Ph.D. degrees, university lecturers, military officers, and researchers in university and government think tanks. To recruit participants, Dr. Li Bin advertised the symposium at Chinese universities and asked his professional contacts at Chinese research institutes to recommend participants. The East Asian Nonproliferation Program (EANP) at CNS contacted Chinese professors who participated in previous training programs to ask them to recommend qualified students. Five participants were recruited in this way, expanding the geographical representation of the symposium beyond Beijing and Shanghai to include participants from Wuhan, Nanjing, and Sichuan.

Participant in the negotiation simulation on the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC).
Thirty-five participants were selected from over 60 applicants based on academic qualifications, diversity of backgrounds, and geographic locations. Nine People's Liberation Army (PLA) participants were drawn from the National Defense University, the Academy of Military Sciences, the China Defense Science and Technology Information Center, the Ministry of National Defense Foreign Affairs Office, PLA Foreign Languages University, PLA University of Polytechnique, and the General Armament Department. Other participants came from elite Chinese universities (including Beijing University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University) and Beijing and Shanghai-based research institutes.

Symposium Activities

Debnath Shaw, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India.
The symposium covered a range of arms control and nonproliferation topics including: basics arms control concepts and terminology; the technology of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons; the strategic context of arms control; arms control and nonproliferation regimes and organizations; global and regional arms control issues; confidence-building measures; U.S. arms control and nonproliferation policy; and China's arms control and nonproliferation policy.

The symposium included four major components:

  1. Arms control and nonproliferation lectures in Chinese and English by Chinese and Western experts;
  2. Visits to Chinese nuclear, international studies, and defense research institutions around Beijing;
  3. Representatives from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and foreign embassies (the United States, Russia, India, Japan, and the United Kingdom) speaking on the current arms control and disarmament polices of their countries; and
  4. Two simulation exercises, including a domestic debate on anti-personnel landmine issues and a multinational negotiation simulation on the International Code of Conduct against the Proliferation of Ballistic Missiles (ICOC).
Dr. Phillip Saunders, Director of the CNS East Asia Nonproliferation Program.

Dr. Saunders and Dr. Yuan from the Center for Nonproliferation Studies conducted five lectures in Chinese and English (research design and open-source information collection; global nonproliferation regimes and challenges; Northeast Asian arms control and nonproliferation issues; security and arms control in South Asia; and confidence-building measures). They organized the ICOC simulation exercise with assistance from graduate students and interns at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. CNS also provided advice and assistance in raising funds for the symposium and distributed lecture notes, background reading, and reference materials to symposium participants (including a draft version of the forthcoming Chinese language publication A Chinese Reader from the Nonproliferation Review). [Complete Document List]

Arms Control Negotiation Simulation Exercise

One of the highlights of the symposium was the two-part, four-hour negotiation simulation on the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC). The instruction cables and draft text (derived from the actual text of the draft ICOC) highlighted four key issues for negotiations:

  1. the relationship between nonproliferation objectives and economic/scientific cooperation;
  2. confidence-building measures;
  3. transparency measures; and
  4. the relationship between the ICOC and the Missile Technology Control Regime.

The instruction cables were drafted to reflect each country's historical positions on missile nonproliferation and to encourage a lively debate (while simultaneously urging each group to seek an agreed final text).

The Chinese delegation argues a point in the negotiation simulation exercise.
Eighteen Chinese symposium participants represented six countries (China, India, Iran, Japan, Russia, and the United States) in the simulation. Each country delegation had three members, who were given background materials and instructions on the first day. Each team turned a draft of their formal position in to the moderators on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, the first round of negotiations was conducted. Each delegation made a ten-minute presentation of its position in English, followed by questions and comments by the different delegations in Chinese. Groups consulted with each other on the issues during breaks and meals. A second round of negotiation was held on Saturday, with delegations working their way through the bracketed text and trying to reach compromise on each issue. All participants were actively involved and the discussions featured a number of heated exchanges on the substantive issues.

Although the simulation exercise failed to produce an agreed final text, the process was highly valuable in at least three important aspects.

  • First, participants gained a better understanding of international efforts against ballistic missile proliferation and learned to appreciate each other's perspectives, positions and the rationales upon which they are based.
  • Second, participants learned the process of negotiation and some of the elementary features in a real context.
  • Third, participants learned the importance and intricacy of bargaining, linkages, trade-off, and compromises.

    The "active learning" approach in the simulation engaged all the participants in mastering the tricky policy issues involved in restraining the proliferation of ballistic missiles. The formal statements of position were persuasive, and the negotiations featured lively discussions with participants remaining in character throughout the sessions. (The U.S., Chinese, and Iranian delegations were particularly active). Simulation participants all expressed satisfaction with the exercise.

    Conclusion

    The first "Tsinghua University Summer Symposium on Arms Control" was a major success. The mixture of academic lectures, policy briefings, site visits, and simulation exercises gave participants exposure to differing perspectives on a wide range of arms control and nonproliferation issues. The symposium also provided opportunities for participants to question Chinese and international experts and to engage in substantive debates with each other. The use of simulation exercises, a relatively recent innovation in Chinese classrooms, was highly successful in encouraging students to study the intricacies of specific arms control policy issues. Extensive cooperation between U.S. and Chinese organizations produced a remarkable successful symposium that stimulated interest in the study of arms control and nonproliferation among younger Chinese security experts.

    Dr. Jing-dong Yuan, CNS East Asia Nonproliferation Program.

    Participating Organizations and Institutions

      China

      • Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies (Host)
      • China Arms Control and Disarmament Association
      • China Defense Science and Technology Information Center
      • China Institute of International Studies
      • Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics
      • Fudan University's Center for American Studies

      United States

      • Monterey Institute of Internationals Studies (Co-sponsor)
      • Union for Concerned Scientist (Co-sponsor)
      • Ploughshares Fund (Financial support)
      • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Financial support)

    Chinese Universities and Institutes with Symposium Participants:

    • National Defense University
    • Beijing Foreign Language University
    • Wuhan University
    • PLA Foreign Language University
    • PLA University of Polytechnique
    • Nanjing University
    • Chinese People's University
    • Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics (Beijing)
    • China Defense Science and Technology Information Center
    • Sichuan University
    • China Reform Forum
    • Shanghai Institute of International Studies
    • Shanghai Tongji University
    • China Institute of Contemporary International Relations
    • Academy of Military Sciences
    • Beijing Research Institute of Applied Sciences
    • Lanzhou University
    • Fudan University
    • Beijing University
    • Beijing Foreign Affairs College
    • Tsinghua University
    • Ministry of National Defense Foreign Affairs Office
    • General Armaments Research Institute


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