May 23,
2014

ISSUE
No. 10

AMS Weekly Newsletter
Supporting the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
Weekly Readings
 
This week's reading suggestions relate to China's foreign policy challenges, including discussions of Beijing's approach, how it frames foreign policy and state security, and a better response to terrorism. In some cases, the Chinese approach and language of foreign mirrors how Americans are trained; however, in some other important areas like "overall state security," the terminology and meaning does not translate quite so well.

"习近平:中国人民不接受'国强必霸'的逻辑," Xinhua, May 16, 2014

"反恐也需'内病外治'," People's Daily, May 12, 2014

"确保国家总体安全," Study Times, May 12, 2014

"Magnetic Rocks: Assessing China's Legal Strategy in the South China Sea," The National Interest, May 19, 2014

"China's 'Peaceful Rise' and the South China Sea," The Diplomat, May 17, 2014
Weibo Watch
 
Vietnam has been on the minds of Chinese netizens in recent days, and not just because of the anti-Chinese riots that have caused many Chinese ex-pats to fly home. Rather, netizens are upset over the Vietnamese parody of the popular Chinese historical drama "My Fair Princess" or "Princess Pearl." The video mocks not only the show, but also traditional Chinese culture. This disrespect linked with the anti-China riots in Vietnam have led many netizens to conclude that the Vietnamese are "vile" and "need to be taught a lesson".
This is not to say that all netizens are opposed to the show. There is a significant minority that finds the parody hilarious and is having fun suggesting other Chinese dramas that can be spoofed.

What is strange is that while there are thousands of comments to posts about the period drama, comments on posts about the anti-China riots are almost nonexistent. Many people are clearly angry about the killing of at least two Chinese citizens and the destruction of Chinese businesses. So why are netizens commenting on one, but not the other? Currently the reasons are not clear. Censorship is the go-to answer, but given the amount of news coverage the riots have been getting in China that seems unlikely. No matter the reason, public sentiment towards Vietnam will be a factor in any future talks or negotiations between China and Vietnam and therefore bears watching.
  See details here.
关键词语 in Xi Jinping's speeches

三股势力
sāngǔsh�l�

Regional security is on the minds of Chinese leaders, especially in light of the tragic market bombing in Xinjiang. Xi Jinping made a number of speeches and remarks over the last few days, both with Putin and during meetings of the "Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia" (CICA). One phrase that came up repeatedly was 三股势力. This important policy term refers to the three major threats that Chinese leaders see in the Central Asian region: terrorism, ethnic separatism, and religious extremism. 那就是恐怖主义、分裂主义、和极端主义
Documentary of the Week
 
This week's documentary offers a series of profiles of Chinese and others living along the Silk Road from from Yiwu to Dubai. Although it is largely a human interest documentary, it shines a light on the job market for
 
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