CIRSS, UP CIDS Co-host Roundtable Discussion on China’s Foreign Policy

Mr. Richard McGregor discussed PRC party politics and its role in PRC foreign policy.

MANILA 21 February 2025 – The Foreign Service Institute (FSI), in partnership with the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP-CIDS), organized a roundtable discussion on China’s Foreign Policy last 14 February 2025 at the temporary headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Pasay.

The roundtable featured Mr. Richard McGregor, a Senior Fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, a foreign policy think tank based in Sydney. His lecture delved into the internal structure and recent shifts in party politics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). He also discussed the nuances and intricacies of their Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Communist Party’s culture bearers—the International Liaison Department, the United Front System, state-owned enterprises, private companies, and state media. He emphasized that these are sectors to be cognizant of as China uses them as tools for its foreign policy.

Participants in the roundtable discussion included representatives from FSI, DFA, UP CIDS, the academe, and the Australian Embassy. 

The roundtable discussion kick-starts the new calendar of partnership events between FSI and UP-CIDS which entered into a framework arrangement to promote academic discourse on shared thematic priorities in foreign relations. In 2024, four roundtable discussions on the issues of the Blue Economy and the West Philippine Sea were successfully convened by FSI and UP-CIDS. This partnership was one of the outcomes of the meeting of the FSI Board last 23 February 2024.

FSI is the research and training agency attached to DFA. It was created by Presidential Decree No. 1060 and its remit was expanded by Republic Act No. 7157. The FSI Board is chaired by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs with the Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Director General of FSI, President of the University of the Philippines (UP), and the President of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) as members.

FSI publishes articles written by its researchers and personnel of DFA through its FSI Insights, FSI Commentaries, and FSI Perspectives. These publications are primarily circulated to policy and decision makers of the Philippine Government and partner diplomatic academies of FSI. Electronic versions of these publications are uploaded to the FSI website to facilitate access by interested parties, including those from the academe and other think-tanks. END

 Participants listen to the lecture of Mr. Richard McGregor. 

FSI Executive Director Lolita B. Capco (right) and UP-CIDS Prof. Herman Joseph S. Kraft (left) presented tokens of appreciation to Mr. Richard McGregor.