The 2025 International Conference on Ethics and Civilization, hosted by Southeast University and co-organized by the Jiangsu Aging Development Research Association and Jiangsu Broadcasting Cable Information Network Corporation Limited, was held in Nanjing. Xu Ying, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Minister of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee Propaganda Department, attended the conference and delivered a speech. With the theme of "Ethics and Civilization", the conference focused on three core topics: "Ethics and Aging Societies", "Ethics and Cross-Cultural Dialogue", and "Ethics and Emerging Technological Civilization". It set up 16 parallel sessions, covering the theoretical traditions of ethics and their cultural dialogues, the basic theories of ethics, as well as the hotspots and frontiers of ethics.

The conference attracted more than 200 experts and scholars from around the world, including international top scholars such as T.M. Scanlon from Harvard University, Peter Singer from Princeton University, and Jeff McMahan from the University of Oxford, as well as domestic authoritative experts like Wan Junren from Tsinghua University and Sun Chunchen from University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Through forms such as keynote reports and sub-forum seminars, the conference deeply explored the role of ethics in addressing the challenges of aging, technological ethics, and mutual learning among civilizations.

Professor Lei Ruipeng delivered a keynote report titled The Debate on Synthetic Biology "Playing God". The report made an in-depth analysis of the ethical controversies triggered by the development of synthetic biology technology, especially discussing the moral boundaries of human beings transforming life through gene editing and synthetic biology technology. Professor Lei's report aroused widespread attention and heated discussion among the attending scholars, providing important theoretical support for promoting the establishment and improvement of ethical norms in synthetic biology. The conference aims to promote global ethical theory and practical innovation and provide ideological resources for building a community with a shared future for mankind. Professor Lei’s contribution is an important embodiment of this goal.