The event opened with remarks from Mr. Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, EU Ambassador to China, who stated that "The world of today requires a strong partnership between the EU and China providing stability on the global stage. We must – and do – work together on an ever-increasing number of issues. Part of this global engagement is increasingly foreign policy and security. We need to enhance concrete cooperation, especially on the DPRK, Africa, Middle East Peace Process, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran nuclear deal."

Mr. Chen Xu, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General of European Affairs, also welcomed the experts, stating that “During President Xi Jinping’s visit to the EU headquarters in 2014, both sides further agreed to foster China-EU partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization progress. The four-pillared partnership starting from that for peace, reflects the responsibility and call to action of China and the EU as two major forces in the world. China and Europe enjoy natural advantages and favorable conditions to build a partnership for peace, we should continue to support each other's development, support multilateralism, and build the above-mentioned four pillars of our partnership.”

The forum’s discussion sessions were led by some of the most prominent voices in international peace and security, including François Godement, Asia Programme Director and Senior Policy Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations; Dr. Cui Hongjian, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Department for European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies; Dr. Feng Zhongping, Vice President of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations; Professor Li Qiang, Director of Centre for European Studies, Peking University; Dr. Xu Qiyu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies at National Defence University; Gudrun Wacker, Senior Fellow in the Asia Division at SWP; and Philip Stephens, Chief Political Commentator and Associate Editor of the Financial Times. The forum highlighted both past achievements of EU-China peace and security cooperation and current areas where the two global actors can collaborate successfully.