Renmin University of China (RUC) hosted “Boao Dialogue: Public Diplomacy and National Image” on April 11. The event was a satellite of the annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Hainan province. This is the second time RUC has hosted a BFA satellite conference, after being the first University to lead the “Public Diplomacy and National Image” satellite last year. Bob Hawke, the former Australian prime minister, gave a speech on the meaning of “public diplomacy and national image.” In Hawke’s opinion, building national image is the key to developing national soft power and promoting public diplomacy. Hawke pointed out that with the gradual increase of Chinese national power, and its economic and social development, Chinese public diplomacy is reaching a period of maturity. This, he said, will be important for projecting the Chinese national image onto the world stage. Li Zhaoxing, the former foreign minister, emphasized the importance of building a good national image. Virtues like humility, diligence, and treating others as equals are the main components of a good national image, Li said, and explained themby telling several diplomatic anecdotes. Li said that citizens’ self-images had great effect on shaping the national image. According to Li, every citizen should pay attention to details in daily life and foreign interaction in order to contribute to building a good image of the country and its people. William Owens, vice-chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Asia, and chairman of AEA Investors (Asia), talked about his experience and feelings in China. He expressed his opinion that trust was the foundation of foreign networking. Jacques said that all the guests at the conference were like family, and they could feel each other’s enthusiasm and friendship. In this condition, they could overcome cultural differences with an open and tolerant mind, and collaborate in trust. Martin Jacques, senior fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, identified a new trend of countries becoming more influenced by outside factors, notably the increased connectivity of individuals. As the influence of external elements grows a countries develop, Chinese national image would be effected largely by the behavior of Chinese citizens abroad. So, Jacques said, China needs foreign and public policies advancing with the times, and a good citizen image tohelp promote China’s image-building. In conclusion, Chen Yulu, president of RUC, gave a speech maintaining the practical significance of equipping young people the ability and attainment of public diplomacy. And he said that education should play a key role in those areas. Chen pointed out that young students are a vital asset to lead China step into the center of global culture. With the opportunities for cross-cultural communication increasing, Chinese universities should start reforming the talent cultivation system and academic system to align with this trend. Chen said that RUC’s building of the Academy of Public Diplomacy and hosting various public diplomacy activities were timely developments. RUC would continue bringing academic excellence into full play, accelerating cultural diplomacy and promoting the development of China’s public diplomacy, Chen said. After the discussion, the guests answered questions raised by audience. They gave comments on “promoting communication”, “China’s national image” and “the emergence of domestic and overseas information”. BFA was formally inaugurated in February 2001, and has become a high-profilepl at form for dialogue among leaders of national governments, industry, business and the academy. Delegates come from around the world to discuss important issues confronting in Asia and the global community. BFA is dedicated to promoting Asian countries to achieve common development through further integration of regional economies. RUC has always been a practitioner and advocate of public diplomacy and cross-cultural communication. And it has encouraged many opportunities for international academic cooperation. RUC has hosted thirteen Confucius Institutes globally, helping the world to better understand China.