It is difficult to truly and fully understand a country without first appreciating the nature of its own political system and the unique path to development. On this topic, People’s Daily Online has you covered with our series of multi-faceted and in-depth conversations with foreign and domestic thought leaders on the subject of domestic and international politics, discussions that can hopefully help to clear the air a bit between China and those who may still have a false impression of the country and its people.

In this episode, the first person we spoke to was Stephen Perry, president of the 48 Group Club of Great Britain. On December 18, 2018, Perry received a Friendship for China’s Reform Medal in Beijing at a conference marking the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, honoring dedication and effort by him and his father, founder of the London Export Corporation, to strengthen Sino-British ties.

Next, we heard from Sun Jisheng, the current vice president of the China Foreign University (CFAU). His research focuses mainly on the theory of international relations, in particular the role of language in diplomatic relations, in addition to China’s foreign policy. The politics of discourse and culture, as well as the subject of American politics, have also been extensively covered in his research.

Check out the full episode to see what ideas Stephen Perry and Sun Jisheng exchanged to better understand China.