Nov. 23,
2015

ISSUE
No. 64

AMS Weekly Newsletter

Supporting the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations

AMS event on China-Russia Relations today

Join us today at 5pm at CSIS (Room C119) for a talk, in Chinese, by Qiang Xiaoyun on China-Russia relations since 2012. This is a critically important relationship that is not well understood by very many American policymakers or analysts. Dr. Qiang Xiaoyun is a senior fellow and deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies' Department of Russia-Central Asian Studies. She has spent most of her academic and professional life in Russia and has an understanding of the China-Russia relationship that very few can match.

Weekly Readings

Leadership Speeches:

This week's readings are leadership speeches about China, the United States, and the international system. These two speeches are worth reading with some attentiveness, because they provide useful statements from senior policymakers about where, when, and why the two countries will take action. If you have not already done so, these speeches should rise to the top of your queue this week.

Fu Ying, "Under the Same Roof: China's View of Global Order"

Ashton Carter, "Remarks at the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting - Plus (ADMM-Plus)"

俗语 in Xi Jinping's Speeches

光明磊落

guāng míng lěi luò

Meaning: to be open and candid

Xi Jinping gave a speech on November 20th commemorating the 100th anniversary of Hu Yaobang's birth. History is written to suit needs of the present, so it is interesting to read this speech to see how Hu's life and contributions to China and the Party are articulated.

Original: 工作中出现了问题，他首先承担责任，决不诿过于人。他说，知错就改，光明磊落一辈子；知错不改，内疚一辈子。

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-11/20/c_1117214229.htm

Documentary of the Week

The late Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang was undoubtedly one of the most interesting Chinese leaders. A Hakka by birth and a bit of a rebel all of his life, Hu's rise through the CCP's ranks is remarkable. For example, supposedly, in the mid-1980s, Deng Xiaoping held a meeting offering to resign for the problems in reform, but expecting a plea to stay the course. Hu, however, said "I raise both hands in support of Comrade Deng's motion." Hu may have ris en and fallen several times alongside Deng, but he had his own ideas and he pushed political-economic reform too far, too fast. Hu also welcomed criticism of government policy, and he himself probably overstepped the bounds of his own criticism, eventually breaking with Deng. Most talk of meaningful political liberalization in China traces back to Hu and his influence, making him a remarkable figure as someone who devoted more than fifty years of his life to the party. This week's video is brief sketch of Hu's life.

凤凰独家纪录片《好大一棵树》：追忆胡耀邦

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