The sixth World Economic and Political Biweekly Forum was held on January 14, 2021. Professor Li Bin from the Department of International Relations, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, gave a lecture on ‘Challenges to the Theory of Strategic Stability’. The forum was chaired by Yang Yuan, Director of the Division of International?Politics Theory of IWEP. Zou Zhibo, Deputy Director of IWEP delivered a welcome speech. In addition to the participants at the institute, two hundred audience joined the forum online.

Professor Li Bin analyzed the external challenges faced by the strategic stability theory theoretically and practically. He combined conceptual principle with concrete policy issues, such as the questions of who is in charge of nuclear retaliation; the debate between large-scale nuclear retaliation and limited nuclear war; the danger of nuclear war caused by the confusion of offense and defense; minimum nuclear deterrence scale; and related issues of the Law of Armed Conflict. Zou Zhibo commented on the lecture and emphasized that strategic stability concerns the peace and stability of mankind. Nuclear weapons must be adopted with prudence, and nuclear war must never be initiated. At the end of the forum, Professor Li Bin answered questions from the audience.