The 19th National Paper Conference (2018) with the theme of "Paper in the New Era: Future and Trends" was opened on August 3rd in Yantai, Shandong Province. The conference was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences( CASS), Social Science Literature Publishing House. Shandong Academy of Social Sciences(CASS) and Ludong University jointly organized. Wang Jingqing, deputy dean of CASS and deputy secretary of the party group; Sun Jiye, deputy governor of Shandong Province; Cai Fang, vice president of CASS, member of the party group; Wu Shulin, executive vice chairman of the China Publishing Association, and former deputy director of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; Tang Zhouyan, vice chairman of the Shandong Provincial Political Consultative Conference and secretary of the Party Committee of SASS, attended the conference and delivered a speech and academic report. Zhang Shucun, president of SASS, presided over the opening ceremony of the conference. 

After more than 20 years of professional development, the Paper has developed from a publishing house's academic products to a think tank research and development platform. Especially after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee of the CPC with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core attached great importance to the construction of a new type of think tank. The paper is developing rapidly. It has become the key point for the construction of new think tanks and the best window to fast and convenient understand China for international and domestic society.

Wang Jingqing, vice president of CASS and deputy secretary of the party group, emphasized in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 19th National Book Conference that the researchers of the Paper need to clearly understand the needs of the times and the needs of society, deeply think about the current situation and problems of China's economic and social development; Through the research and development of the Paper, researchers should serve the overall situation of national economic and social development. He made four suggestions for the research and development of the Paper in the new era: First, the Paper in the new era should closely follow the trend of the times and serve the important theoretical and practical issues of socialism with Chinese characteristics; Second, the Paper in the new era should serve the construction of think tanks, reflecting the value and level of think tanks; Third, the Paper in the new era should focus on scientific research, create high quality works; Fourth, the Paper in the new era should provide a broader platform for the cultivation of philosophical and social science talents and the growth of young scientific research talents.

Sun Jiye, deputy governor of Shandong Province, pointed out that the Paper is an outstanding achievement and well-known brand of philosophy and social science with Chinese characteristics. In the past 20 years, CASS has made the first statement, established theory for the party and the people, made suggestions, and constantly upgraded the professional level of the Paper. The international influence of China's philosophy and social sciences has been significantly enhanced. The Paper has made important contributions to the construction of a new type of think tank with Chinese characteristics and the development of philosophy and social science with Chinese characteristics.

Xu Zhengming, former Deputy Director of Publishing Management Division of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, pointed out that the publication of the Paper should better serve the overall situation of the party and the country, better connect the research field with the mission and responsibility given by the times, better disseminate the Chinese concept, and reflect the Chinese value and the Chinese proposition. First, we must improve the political position of the Paper, strictly control the political outlook, content view and orientation of the publication of the Paper; Second, we must strengthen the construction of academic norms and comprehensively improve the quality of Paper's publishing; Third, we must improve the professional level and strive to expand the attractiveness of the original platform of the Paper; Fourth, we must persist in innovation and integration, dig deep into the value of the Paper’s content, and further enhance communication, influence and competitiveness. 

Chen Junqian, Director of the Fund Division of the National Philosophy and Social Science Planning Office, pointed out in his speech that in the future, the Paper should be more deeply integrated with the times, society, media, and academic research, and strive to create a new height of the Paper in the new era. First, the Paper in the new era should be better responsible for society, which is not only a requirement for philosophy and social science research, but also a requirement for the publication of philosophy and social science; Second, the Paper in the new era should become a model for the deep integration of publishing institutions and academic development; Third, the Paper in the new era should actively build a media-wide communication pattern; In the content of communication, adjust the content of communication with the development of practice and scholarship; In the form of communication, deep integrate paper carriers and new media to create a full-media communication pattern; In the scope of communication, innovate academic languages and tell the Chinese story well. 

Xie Shouguang, president of the Social Science Literature Publishing House, pointed out in his opening speech that looking forward to the future, the Paper in the new era should be a platform for the construction of China's new think tank. Through the standardized management of the Paper, we will establish China's academic publishing standards and continuously improve the  Paper's quality of content and social influence, build an exchange service platform and international communication platform for the products of Chinese think tank and construction of think tanks. The Paper in the new era should comprehensively improve the level of use of big data, publish a variety of paper index, and make it to be Chinese index, so that the sound of the Chinese think tank will be heard on the world stage, making China's contribution to human development; We should actively promote the integration of digital resources and sharing of data, promote the combination of big data development, think tank construction, and scientific research and innovation. The Paper in the new era should be the first statement and the trend of the times.

Tang Zhouyan, vice chairman of the Shandong Provincial Political Consultative Conference and secretary of the Party Committee of SASS, said in his speech that SASS as the think tank of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, has been committed to building a first-class new type of think tank in China. As an important platform for the release of think tank results, the "Shandong Blue Paper" series has always been the focus of the construction of the new think tank of SASS. In 2015, the SASS implemented an innovative project, and the Shandong Blue Paper was included in the major support project for innovative project. The Shandong Blue Paper has become the authoritative research result of SASS in analyzing the economic and social development situation and predicting the annual development trend. It plays an increasingly important role in the economic and social development of Shandong Province. It provides an important decision-making reference for the construction of modern strong province in the new era. 

Xu Dongsheng, secretary of the Party Committee of Ludong University, expressed warm congratulations on behalf of all the teachers and students for the 19th National Paper Conference.  He introduced the history, changes, and development of Ludong University. It is the fine tradition of Ludong University to attach great importance to humanities and social science research and vigorously strengthen the construction of research platform and think tank. With the theme of  "Paper in the New Era: Future and Trends", the annual conference will surely promote the  healthy and vigorous development of the Paper industry in China.

After the opening ceremony, Cai Fang, Vice President of CASS, and Wu Shulin, Executive Vice President of the China Publishing Association, respectively gave an academic report entitled "How to Start a New Motive Force for China's Economic Growth" and "Further improve the quality of the Paper and win the right to speak in the academic discourse"

At the same time, the ninth "Excellent Paper Award" and "Excellent Paper Report Award" were held. China's Rule of Law Development Report No.15·2017 and Beijing Healthy City Construction Research Report (2017) and other 10 papers won the first prize. China Urban Development Report No. 10 and other 15 papers won the second prize. Anhui Social Development Report (2017) and China New Energy Automobile Industry Development Report (2017) and other 24 papers won the third prize; Towards High-end Structural Transformation, Global Digital Economy Development Report 2017, Safety and Civilization: A New Perspective on Non-traditional Security Research, and other 42 papers reports won the first, second and third prize of the Excellent Paper Report Award.  The economic blue Paper of SASS Shandong Economic Situation Analysis and Forecast (2017) and the research report 2017: Shandong Province Social Situation Analysis and Forecast respectively won the second prize of the "Excellent Paper Award" and the second prize of the "Excellent Paper Report Award".

The conference also published a list of the Papers selected for the 2019 CASS Philosophy and Social Science Innovation Project Academic Publishing funded Project. China's Rule of Law Development Report No.17, China Financial Development Report (2019) and 2019 World Economic Situation Analysis and Forecast, and other 40 kinds of papers were qualified. 

The annual Paper conference is an annual event where think tank scholars exchange ideas, grasp the direction of future research, and promote the development of the Paper. Since 2000, the annual Paper conference has been held for 19 years, and it has been hosted by CASS for 8 years since 2011, through high-level academic reports and series of forums, the brand effect of the annual Paper conference is increasingly presented. The Paper conference has become a professional academic seminar in the field of construction of new think tank. It has positive effect for the construction of Paper research and development platform, the improvement of the  Paper's quality of the content, and the expansion of the social impact of the Paper.

This annual conference lasted for 2 days. The conference had academic reports, keynote speeches and 7 sub-forums. Focusing on topics such as the Paper’s research and development and construction of think tank, industry development, country regional and global governance research, cultural communication, etc., Scholars discussed in depth and comprehensively explored the future and trends of the development of the Paper.

Ma Yuan, director of the Research Bureau of CASS; Xu Zhengming, former Deputy Director of Publishing Management Division of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; Chen Junqian, Director of the Fund Division of the National Philosophy and Social Science Planning Office; Xie Shouguang, president of the Social Science Literature Publishing House; Xin Shuren, Deputy Secretary-General of Shandong Provincial People's Government; He Yaomin, vice President of Renmin University of China; Xu Dongsheng, Party Secretary of Ludong University; Wang Jidong, Deputy Secretary of Yantai Municipal Committee and other leaders, scholars from CASS, local Academy of Social Sciences, universities and colleges, as well as experts from Paper research groups, nearly 600 representatives from various media, attended the annual Paper conference.