On the afternoon of November 5th, 2013, invited by the American Studies Center and the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding (iGCU) of Peking University, Professor Patrick Mendis, Distinguished Fellow of the School of Public Policy of George Mason University, visited the School of International Studies and gave an academic lecture entitled "Peaceful War: How the China Dream and the American Destiny Create a Pacific New World Order". It was attended by Associate Professor Wang Dong, Deputy Director of theInstitute for Global Cooperation and Understanding and Deputy Secretary-General of the American Studies Center, Dr. Jie Dalei, lecturer of the School of International Studies of Peking University, and a number of Chinese and foreign doctoral students and postgraduates from the School of International Studies.
Professor Patrick Mendis once served as a senior State Department official in the Clinton and Bush administrations and was appointed by the Obama administration as a member of the United States National Committee of UNESCO. After returning to academic circles from government work, he is currently a distinguished fellow and visiting professor in International Affairs at the School of Public Policy of George Mason University.
At the beginning of his lecture, Professor Mendis proposed a novel point of view to explain the differences in the layout of Chinese and American institutions from the perspective of constellations, then analyzed the different thoughts, education and traditional ideas in the development processes of the two countries from historical and cultural perspectives. Through an in-depth study of famous politicians in the histories of the two countries, he put forward the concept of "Confucius Meets Madison" and explored the political differences between China and the United States by analyzing the similarities and differences in political opinions of the two figures. At the same time, he also explained in detail the political thoughts and views of Liang Qichao.
Professor Mendis also compared the "China Dream" with the "American Dream". In his view, the China Dream and the American Dream originate from traditional Chinese Confucianism and the American Charter written by the founding fathers of the United States respectively. Both aim at the realization of the "pursuit of life, equality, freedom and happiness", but adopt different ways to realize these goals. However, under the development trend of the world today, facing many international problems and crises, the two ways have exposed some defects while showing their respective advantages. Thus, Professor Mendis explored the idea of combining these two ways in trade, economics and geopolitics, namely the realization of the "Pacific Dream". In his opinion, the dream of achieving this common prosperity will inevitably lead to a great deal of friction and conflict between China and the United States, but this type of running-in will promote the same goals based on the close economic and trade links between the two sides. Therefore, both sides will enjoy a state of relative peace for a long time, namely the "Peaceful War" of the title of the lecture.
Professor Mendis' s wonderful speech, full of wisdom and passion, aroused the great interest of the attending teachers and students. They asked many questions and Professor Mendis gave wonderful answers one by one. Finally, Professor Mendis presented a signed copy of his new book Peaceful War: How the China Dream and the American Destiny Create a Pacific New World Order to Wang Dong, and also took a photo with the professors, postgraduates and doctoral students who attended the lecture. The lecture concluded successfully in a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere.
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