Institute for Internet Policy & Law @ Beijing Normal University

Aspen Institute Italia is an international non-profit association dedicated to the high level exchange of information and values. The Aspen international network includes independent but coordinated offices in the US, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Romania, Spain and Ukraine.

The Aspen Seminars for Leaders (ASL) are the successful European version of the renowned original Aspen Executive Seminars. Their format represents a unique approach, both at the national and at the international level: the environment created at these events encourages free and open debate, leading to an in-depth analysis of topical issues of the day. The relevance of the discussions, the informal atmosphere, the limited number of participants per seminar and the common activities are just some of the characteristics of Aspen Italia’s seminar activity. ASL provides a unique opportunity to enhance knowledge and gain information; they offer a wide range of perspectives on the strategic challenges of a more and more globalized, multi-sided and competitive world. Far from giving off-the-shelf answers, the Seminars represent a sort of open agorà where businessmen can meditate upon the issues they have to tackle with daily, as well as the contradictory interests, values and cultures of the modern society.

In October 2019 the Aspen Seminars for Leaders was held in Venice at the San Clemente Palace Kempinski. The modern complex, with its beautiful open courtyards, preserves the charm and atmosphere of the ancient Camaldolite monastery, built in the second half of the seventeenth century. The artistic heritage and stunning scenery provide the perfect setting for meditative analysis.

Prof. Xue was invited to presented at the Workshop of data driven society. With the advent of the digital age, the relationship between data, technology, foreign policy and security is growing. For a long time, the Internet was seen as the modern agora. Today however, more and more experts highlight the risks that come from an increasingly concentrated control of data in the hands of a few players. At the center of the discussion is the fear that the internet could turn into a breach of democratic systems, with far greater repercussions than in the past. Prof. Xue emphasized the importance of protection of personal information while pursuing the social economic development. Prof. Xue particularly pointed out that undermining data protection in data-driven society is like development of manufacture industry at the cost of environmental protection. It’s not sustainable to adopt the model of pollution first and clean-up later-on. Her presentation was strongly supported by the all the participants.

The Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum (APTFF) is the leading regional platform for the exchange of information, experiences and practice on trade facilitation. The APTFF has been organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and a growing number of partners since 2009, including UNCTAD, WCO and WTO. It is held biennially and attracts more than 250 participants from 30 countries. The 9th APTFF took place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Delhi, New Delhi, India on 17-18 September 2019. The Forum was organized by ESCAP and ADB in collaboration with the Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industries.

The Forum focused on how digital and sustainable trade facilitation measures and practices can bring prosperity to the Asia-Pacific region and investigated the opportunities from trade digitalization for sustainable development of the region, and challenges ahead in materializing such opportunities. it featured panel discussions, interactive and informative sessions allowing participants to share experiences and perspectives on different aspects of trade facilitation, including trade finance, cross-border e-commerce, paperless trade, and innovative application of emerging technologies, among others. The Forum brought relevant regional initiatives and implementation cases to each session to make it a unique opportunity to share knowledge and practical lessons. A number of side events were organized throughout the week in collaboration with other partners to provide more in-depth exploration of pertinent trade facilitation issues. The Forum also included an exhibition for relevant service providers and international organizations to promote their work in this area.

Prof. Xue gave an important presentation at  Session 5: Trade facilitation for e-commerce: Emerging innovations for seamless cross-border transactions by emphasizing the value of cross-border data flow in the paperless trade facilitation and encouraged the Member States to take action according to the WTO TFA with respect to data regulations. Prof. Xue’s presentation attracted many questions from the audience and she responded effectively to each of them.

Prof. Xue was also invited to take part in the APTFF Capacity Building Workshop on Cross-border Paperless Trade Facilitation, a side event organized by UNESCAP and ADB. The workshop brought relevant regional stakeholders of cross-border paperless trade and shared experiences and lessons learnt in its facilitation, including issues and challenges faced and actions and measures for implementation. The government officials from selected developing countries in the region as well as representatives from the initiatives on cross-border electronic data exchange from the region and beyond participated in the workshop. Prof. Xue gave the expert legal opinions on seven countries’ studies on challenges and way-forward for cross-border paperless trade. Her comments impressed all the stakeholders from the relevant development countries as well as the professionals from the international organizations.

4th CAREC Think Tanks Development Forum “Trading for Shared Prosperity” was held on 27-28 August 2019| Xi’an, Shaanxi and attracted over 100 participants from think tanks, academia, private sector, and government officials from CAREC countries.

Intra-regional trade is particularly significant today due to the growing trade conflicts among major trading partners. This situation not only threatens to dampen the prospects for global growth prospects; it also weakens the multilateral governance system that has underpinned trade relationships between and among countries over many years. Without question, trade is an overarching economic objective without which there can be no multiple positive consequences. The 4th CTTDF inter-alia identified and discussed the main challenges to trade within the region, among which are the economic implications of the burgeoning trade conflicts among the major global trading partners. An assessment of these tensions identified the necessary policy mechanisms for CAREC member countries to craft positive responses and avert negative consequences to the region.

Prof. Xue in her Speech “Policy Implications for CAREC Region in terms of taxation, licensing and regulations” presented that the new technologies like IoT, big data, AI and blockchain enable CAREC countries to leapfrog in development of e-commerce and digital economy. Appropriate legal and regulatory system are essential for application of new technologies and release their great potential for economy and trade. New laws that provides enabling trade environment, facilities paperless trade and most importantly removes legal barriers will provide the essential legal recognition, support and endorsement for the success of digital economy. The speech was warmly welcomed by the officials and other participants from CAREC countries. Prof. Xue effectively responded to many questions from the audience.

Strengthening and deepening engagement with national stakeholders of CAREC member countries – i.e., think tanks, academia, civil society, and the private sector – is one of the driving principles of the CAREC 2030 Strategy. By serving as the secretariat to the CAREC Think Tanks Network (CTTN), CI fulfills this mandate through active knowledge exchange with regional think tanks, of which CI is also a member. The CTTN organizes the CAREC Think Tanks Development Forum (CTTDF) annually. From its modest beginning in 2016, the CTTDF has grown in size, visibility, and appeal. Now into its fourth year, the forum has become an attractive destination for regional think tanks, universities and researchers to exchange views and knowledge on evolving regional and global policy challenges.

2019 Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF 2019) was held in Vladivostok, Russia, from 16 to 19 July 2019. The overarching theme for the event was ‘Enabling a Safe, Secure and Universal Internet for All in Asia Pacific’, with the sub-themes being: Safe Internet, Cyber-security & Regulation; Access & Universality; Emerging Technologies & Society; Evolving Role of Internet Governance & Multi-stakeholder Participation; and Digital Economy.

Prof. Xue gave a keynote speech at the Capacity Building Day on July 16 and talked about “Consumer Protection in E-commerce”, which as hailed by all the young fellows and other participants as very inspiring and forward-looking. Prof. Xue answered many questions and comments regarding data protection, consumer rights and other Internet legal issues. 

Prof. Xue was invited to be an expert panelist at the Workshop “A roadmap for studying ICT laws and building a database for Asia” organized by Association for Progressive Communications (APC) on July 18 and talked about the importance of building a people-centered and right-based legal framework for cyberspace. The session addresses the sub-theme on Safer Internet, Cyber-security and Regulation Online. It aims to encourage discussion on the growing number of policies, regulations and laws in Asian countries that seek to monitor and regulate the internet and the impact of these legislation on information and privacy among others. Of key importance is also our intended discussion on how we can build alliances with civil society, academia, journalists, the technical community and lawyers in order to create a multidisciplinary approach to challenge these laws where necessary, through creating awareness, bridging gaps in our understanding of these laws, not just among the various actors but also among a wider audience, and providing support to strategic litigation in different countries, with the ultimate aim of pushing for a regulatory framework that enables a more open, safe and secure internet.

Prof. Xue also actively took part in the discussion for the Synthesis Document

, which aims to document items of common interest relevant to Internet governance in the Asia Pacific region and has developed into one of the highlight innovations of the APrIGF and inspired other national and regional initiatives to develop their own processes.

The World Trade Organization invited Prof. Xue to give two keynote speeches at the 16th Colloquium for Teachers of Intellectual Property in Geneva.  The two-week colloquium for teachers of intellectual property (IP), jointly organized by the WTO and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), opened in Geneva on 17 June 2019. The event aims at helping teachers from developing countries and economies in transition to become more aware of the Geneva institutions, negotiations and other activities concerning intellectual property law and policy and to strengthen their countries’ independent research, policy analysis and teaching. Xiaozhun Yi and Mario Matus, Deputy Directors-General at the WTO and WIPO, opened the two-week course at WIPO headquarters. They highlighted the importance of this event, which brings together 29 IP scholars and teachers with a strong background in IP and responds to the growing demand for enhanced awareness of IP issues.

The programme included a wide range of IP policy and legal issues, such as IP and public health, IP and e-commerce, IP and biotechnology, IP and artificial intelligence, and IP and blockchain. More than 40 experts from WIPO, the WTO, partner intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and various fields of industry addressed participants to keep them up to date with the key issues and challenges confronting IP law and policy. Prof. Xue presented on “IPR Issues in the Digital Economy” and “Copyright Issues in E-commerce” on June 17 and 18 respectively. The keynotes were warmly welcomed by all participants. Prof. Xue responded to all the questions with great enthusiasm.

Participants were provided with an update on the activities and instruments of WIPO and the WTO, focusing on policy issues under negotiation or discussion in the two organizations, and placing these issues in their wider legal and policy contexts. The colloquium strengthened the capacity of universities to develop national expertise in IP, thereby building their capacity to provide policy support for current negotiations or discussions in WIPO and the WTO.

Prof. Xue was also invited the WTO Intellectual Property Department to provide a presentation at the “IP & TRADE POLICY TODAY” SEMINAR SERIES on June 20 in the WTO Room A. The Seminar series are s a series of informal conversations about the interaction between intellectual property and international trade in today’s global economy. Prof. Xue’s topic is “Intermediary Liability in the Platform Economy: A Key Issue for Intellectual Property Law Regimes”. Prof. Xue addressed that the operators of platform economy provide tens of millions of parties with virtual business premises and with deal-making, information dissemination and other related services, and enable them to independently engage in transactions. The operator plays a vital role in intellectual property protection. Online intermediary liability is the concept of holding online platform operators responsible for illegal or harmful acts of Internet users. An appropriate liability regime for platform operators should recognize the importance of keeping a balanced approach between IP right holders and business operators. The platform operator should be incentivized to cooperate with IP right holders to deter the unauthorized storage and transmission of IP-protected materials. Meanwhile, IP right holders should be granted effective enforcement procedures against infringement. While legal remedies are available for right holders to address such infringement, platform operators should be eligible for appropriate safe harbors in respect of online services which they do not control or initiate and that take place through the system or network controlled or operated by them or on their behalf.

The Seminar was held during the WTO E-commerce Negotiation period and attracted the official delegates from more than fifty countries from Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa to take part. The Head of IPD and other officials gave very high remarks to the insightful and innovative presentation, which was followed with the interesting and fruitful interactions with the delegates and IPD officials.

IP TRADE POLICY TODAY – Prof. Dr. Hong XUE