On March 8, 2016, the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS) of Peking University (PKU) and The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) co-organized a seminar to exchange ideas on American domestic politics, diplomatic policies, and the Sino-US relations. Participants include Prof. Wang Jisi, President of IISS, Prof. Yu Tiejun, Vice-president of IISS, Gui Yongtao, President Assistant of IISS, and some faculties of School of International Studies of PKU, such as Wang Dong, Jie Dalei and Lei Shaohua.

During the discussions in section one entitled “the Domestic Situation of the US”, Prof. Fumiaki Kubo from the University of Tokyo pinpointed that both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party of the US are in a “civil war” within themselves and both Bernie Sanders who suddenly emerges as a social democrat and Donald Trump who caters to the political will of the “angry white” fail to blend in the mainstream school of their respective party. According to Akihiko Yasui, head of the Research Department–Europe and Americas of Mizuho Research Institute, though the American economy is the best in developed countries in terms of recovery, it is still hard to solve such problems as the potential slowing GDP growth rate and the increasing gap between the rich and the poor caused by the financial crisis; though the fiscal reform has made some progresses, the growing medical insurance expenditure has constrained the range of choices for follow-up policies. During the discussions, Prof. Lei Shaohua pointed out that the building of a welfare state by President Obama is also one of the key sources of angry feelings from conservative white constituents.

During the discussions in section two entitled “American diplomatic policies and Sino-US Relations”, according to Prof. Toshihiro Nakayama of Keio University, the Obama Administration has very complete rebalancing strategy that covers strengthening of the alliance network and relations with emerging countries, such as Vietnam and Myanmar, development of the constructive partnership with China, construction of communities and development of multilateral mechanisms, so the strategy does not target China alone. According to Prof. Satoru Mori from Hosei University, through the “Third Offset Strategy”, the US hopes to effectively combine mature and emerging technologies and develop the man-machine coordination or man-machine combat groups; meanwhile the US stresses the concept of “Global Commons Access and Maneuver”, and continues to maintain its leadership in military power so as to cope with threats from the military modernization in China and Russia. During the discussions, Prof. Wang Jisi pointed out that China’s wide connections with the world generated by China’s development can thwart any attempt to contain China and those who do so will achieve nothing but to isolate themselves.