From April 2nd to May 5th, 2023, Prof. Wang Jisi, Founding President of the Institute of International Strategic Studies (IISS), Peking University (PKU) and professor of the School of International Studies (SIS), PKU, paid visits to Singapore, the United States, France and the United Kingdom at the invitation of relevant institutions in these four countries.

From April 3rd to 7th, Prof. Wang met and exchanged views with senior officials of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense, as well as scholars and experts from other institutions including Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and gave two speeches entitled “China’s National Security Strategy after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (NCCPC)” and “Will Sino-U.S. Relations Continue to Deteriorate?”, respectively.

From April 12th to 13th, Prof. Wang attended the annual meeting of the Chubb Group, an American corporation, as a member of its International Advisory Committee in New York. On April 12th, when Prof. Wang met with Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, he conveyed greetings from Qin Gang, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister and on behalf of PKU congratulated Mr. Kissinger on his centenary birthday.

During his stay in New York, Prof. Wang also visited the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), Bloomberg and other institutions, where he engaged in in-depth discussions with their leaders on topics such as Sino-American ties. After that, he had meetings with American China specialists, such as Christopher Johnson and Susan Shirk.

From April 17th to 18th Prof. Wang visited Harvard University and participated in several discussions on Sino-U.S. relations and other issues with its students and faculty members, including professors Michael Szonyi, Joseph Nye, Graham Allison and Douglas Elmendorf,.

From April 19th to 25th, Prof. Wang was warmly welcomed and assisted by the Chinese Embassy in the United States during his visit to Washington, where he met with the principal officials in charge of Asia-Pacific and China affairs at the United States Department of State (DoS), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Commerce (DoC) and National Security Council (NSC).

In Washington, Prof. Wang also met with the following figures: Stephen Hadley, former Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Thomas Friedman, columnist for the New York Times, Craig Allen, President of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), Kevin Rudd, the new Australian ambassador to the United States and former prime minister, and Thomas Banchoff, Vice President for Global Engagement at Georgetown University. In addition, he held meetings with scholars of China studies from several think tanks and universities represented by Michael Swaine, Yun Sun, Ryan Hass, Dennis Wilder, Bonny Lin, Andrew Mertha and David Bulman.

On April 17th, Prof. Wang and Scott Kennedy, senior adviser for Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), co-organized an online meeting titled “Enjoying Jet Lag: Restarting On-site Visit and U.S.-China Relations” during which they shared how they felt about their visits to each other’s countries, including Prof. Wang’s twice visits to the United States and Scott Kennedy’s visit to China in 2022.

On April 24th, Scott Kennedy hosted a dinner gathering for Prof. Wang, which was attended by more than 40 American officials, congressional staff, scholars, and other dignitaries. Xu Xueyuan, chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, and Rick Waters, head of the State Department’s Office of China Coordination, both spoke at the gathering.

From April 26th to May 5th, Prof. Wang headed to Paris and London on the invitation of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). In Paris, he had nine meetings and symposiums with representatives of French think tanks and politicians, including Walid Fouque, Americas, Asia and Oceania Adviser to the French President, Philippe Orliange, Executive Director of Geographies at Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Martin Briens, Director of the Centre for Analysis, Planning and Strategy (CAPS) of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), Benoit Guidee, Asia and Oceania Director of the French MEAE, Louis Riquet, Sub-Director of the East Asia Department of the French MEAE, and Nathalie Loiseau, a French member of the European Parliament. At ECFR’s Paris office, Prof. Wang made a speech titled “China’s Vision for the International Order” and exchanged ideas with all participants. Thierry de Montbrial, Executive Chairman of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), hosted a banquet for Prof. Wang. Through these meetings, Prof. Wang had in-depth communications with French representatives on topics including global and European political and security situation, Sino-French relations, and Russia-Ukraine conflict.

During his visit to London from April 30th to May 5th, Prof. Wang paid a visit to Zheng Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and was cordially welcomed by him. In total, Prof. Wang had 11 meetings and symposiums with delegates from British political circles, business circles, think tanks, academic communities, Chinese-funded enterprises and German and French missions in Britain. People from the political circle include: Lord Charles Powell, a member of the House of Lords, David Lammy, a member of the House of Commons and Foreign Secretary of the Labour Party’s “Shadow Cabinet”, Catherine West, a member of the Labour Party of the House of Commons, Jenny Bates, Director General, Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Peter Wilson, Director General for Europe at FCDO, Dan Chugg, Director for North East Asia and China at FCDO, Andrew Pittam, Deputy Director for North East Asia and China at FCDO, Chris Bond, an experienced China analyst and Kythryn Rand, Head of the China Research Team of the British Cabinet Office. They explored into issues such as Sino-British relations, British-U.S. relations, European political and economic situation and other issues.

On May 1st, the International Labor Day, Prof. Wang visited Oxford University and joined a lunch symposium with local senior scholars of international studies. On May 2nd, Michael Cox, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), organized a dinner party for Prof. Wang, which was attended by more than a dozen of British scholars and officials. On May 3rd, Prof. Wang took part in a symposium organized by Chatham House. On the same day, he made a speech at LSE, sharing his understanding of China’s national security strategy after the 20th NCCPC. The evant was joined by nearly 100 experts, scholars and students both online and offline.

Prof. Wang’s visits to the four countries was fruitful. He expounded his own opinions on the studying of the 20th NCCPC report and China’s domestic and foreign policies on many occasions and achieved great results. Taking this opportunity, he would like to express his gratefulness to the Department of International Cooperation, SIS and relevant leaders of PKU for their support and guidance, as well as Huawei and some Chinese entrepreneurs for their assistance during his visits.

Hu Ran, Ph.D. student of SIS, PKU, coordinated and joined Prof. Wang’s activities in the United States, France and Britain.

Editor: Li Fangqi