On October 29, 2008, a luncheon roundtable was hosted by our institute in the Small Auditorium of Jinjiang Hotel with former U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, as well as International Studies scholars from Shanghai. Sitting in the same room where the Shanghai Communiqué was signed 36 years ago, Dr. Kissinger passionately recalled the significant development of Sino-U.S. relations and the tremendous changes of Shanghai over the past decades. During the roundtable, he exchanged thoughts with other scholars in a profound and candid way on such topics as the current trends of the international system, the impact of the global financial crisis on the international financial system, the role of “soft power” in world politics today, the U.S.’s attitude towards European and Asian integration as well as its strategic calculations, apart from U.S.-China, U.S.-Japan and U.S.-India relations. Dr. Kissinger responded to each question with no reserve, and he believed that the roundtable helped him understand the views of Chinese scholars on the evolution of the international system and future strategic relations among big powers. After the roundtable, Dr. Kissinger took pictures with the students of our institute and happily answered their questions.