In November 2003, the Pacific Forum joined with cosponsoring institutes – the Research institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) and the China Institute for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) – to collaborate on a third round of dialogue aimed to improve understanding and cooperation among the United States, Japan, and China. During two previous series of meetings – held from 1998-2000 and 2000-2002 – the three institutes strongly agreed on the need for further dialogue at the non-governmental level in order to continue to press our publics and governments toward a more reasoned understanding of each other’s policy approaches and visions of their regional and global roles. The value of such dialogue to build bridges when governments lack the capability has been immeasurable. The three institutes have each brought a constructive and cooperative attitude to the project; long before our governments decided to adopt that phrase, we had already instituted it at a working level.