I had the honor of hearing Yan Xuetong lecture to my group from Pitt at Tsinghua. He is the Chinese equivalent of one of the Project for a New American Century guys like Bill Kristol, with a director position at the influential and powerful Tsinghua University. Nice guy, he got his PhD from Berkeley... I do wonder if the party will ultimately discriminate against him because he was an English major as an undergrad. China's current president was a Hydraulic Engineer.
After his lecture, he took questions and I asked him to describe a modern utopian state and what it would take to create it. His utopia sounded a lot like Lennon's vision from "Imagine" and the only thing he could think of that could get humanity to unite without borders was an alien attack in the style of Independence day. I'm not sure if that answer was pragmatic or pessimistic.
learn.tsinghua.edu.cn:8080/2000990147/homeindex.htm is his website. He has the English translation of his book on Chinese National Interests posted for free there. It is worth skimming, because it became actual Chinese policy.
- China Road http://robgifford.com/about/
- Revolution is not a Dinner Party http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780805082074-0