From May 10 to 18, 2019, Robert D. Blackwill, a renowned U.S. diplomat and foreign policy scholar and Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Ashley J. Tellis, a famous international security and U.S. foreign policy expert and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, paid a visit to the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS), Peking University (PKU) and participated in a series of academic exchange events at the IISS.

1. The two experts gave North Pavilion Seminars

On the evening of May 13, Robert D. Blackwill gave the North Pavilion Seminar 34 entitled "Grading Donald Trump's Foreign Policy". At the seminar, Blackwill recalled his experience of visiting China with Kissinger in the 1970s, and then discussed the topic around the following aspects: (1) the current world order; (2) the U.S.'s diplomatic miscalculations that led a major negative impact on the U.S. in history; (3) China's strategic intentions and the U.S.'s current perceptions and strategies toward China; (4) evaluation of China and the U.S.’s foreign policies; (5) the future of Sino-U.S. relations. After the seminar, Blackwill had exchanges and discussions with the teachers and students present at the seminar on issues such as the relations between the U.S. and Iran and the Sino-U.S. humanities exchange.

On the evening of May 16, Ashley J. Tellis gave the North Pavilion Seminar 35  entitled "The U.S.-China-India Triangle: Understanding Strategic Interaction and Consequences". Tellis pointed out that the intersection of Sino-U.S. relations and Sino-India relations in the U.S.-China-India triangle will become more important in the next few years. How to deal with China's rise is the key to the direction of competition between the powers. The interaction of the three states reflects their respective goals, strategies, and results. Tellis also had in-depth exchanges and discussions with the teachers and students present at the seminar on the issues such as the bilateral relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation agreement.

2. The two experts had an internal seminar with Chinese scholars on China-U.S. relations

On the morning of May 14, Blackwill and Tellis met Chinese scholars from universities, think tanks, and the military at Lake House, PKU and had academic exchanges with them. The meeting was divided into two sections which were presided over by Jia Qingguo, Professor of the School of International Studies (SIS), PKU, and Wang Jisi, President of the IISS and Professor of the SIS, respectively.

Blackwill focused on the five major crises confronted by the U.S. government, namely the domestic legal issue, the Iran issue, the North Korea issue, the Venezuela issue, and the Sino-U.S. trade disputes. Tellis expressed his opinions on the rise of China and the U.S's response to it, the future of globalization, and China's military modernization. The Chinese scholars and experts present at the meeting exchanged opinions and views with the two American experts on the issues such as the Afghan issue and the Sino-U.S. relations.

3. "Sino-U.S. Relations and the World Order" in the China Special Series Lecture

On the evening of May 15, 2019, the lecture entitled "China-U.S. Relations and the World Order", as part of the Yenching Academy of Peking University's China Studies Lecture Series, was held in Yanyuan, Peking University (PKU). Blackwill and Tellis, as well as Wang Jisi and Da Wei, Assistant Professor of the SIS, attended the lecture. The lecture was hosted by Fan Shiming, Vice President of the Yenching Academy of Peking University and Associate Professor of the SIS.

In the lecture, Tellis systematically summed up five key factors that shape the direction of the future world order. Blackwill focused on the changes in Sino-U.S. relations and their impact on the world order. Subsequently, Wang Jisi and Da Wei commented on the speeches of the two guests and asked questions. Blackwill and Tellis responded accordingly.

In the interactive session, the audience asked the guests questions about the relations between Japan, South Korea, the U.S., and China, the China-India border conflict, the U.S.-Taiwan relations, the mode of competition between China and the U.S, and other issues.  More than 150 people attended the lecture, including teachers and students from the Yenching Academy of Peking University, some teachers of the SIS, teachers and students from other universities in Beijing, and representatives of some foreign and domestic media.

During their visit, the two experts also paid a visit to institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC, the Center for International Strategy and Security at Tsinghua University, the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies, and the Beijing National Accounting Institute. During their visits, they had in-depth exchanges with the Chinese side.

Editor: Li Fangqi