Jan. 18,
2017

ISSUE
No. 85

AMS Weekly Newsletter
Dedicated to the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
Thank you dear readers for pointing out our silly spelling errors in the last version. To stem the tide of helpful emails from you all, we are resending with errors corrected! 

New year, new administration, new challenges, new opportunities. Rarely have U.S.-China relations been so much "in play" as they are at the advent of this new American administration. Keep an eye on this newsletter to stay abreast of what really matters among the sound and fury of tweets and state-owned media responses. 

Weekly Readings

For the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), national security (国家安全) has a different meaning than that which Westerners typically ascribe to the concept. It has as much to do with preserving stability at home as it does with security from external threats, especially when the two are connected. This is especially important when trying to understand how and why China reacts to external provocations. The deputy director of the Central Office of Preserving Stability offered some thoughts on this relationship and the priorities for the government in the coming year.


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Related background:

俗语 in Xi Jinping's Speeches

条条大路通罗马
tiáo tiáo dàlù tōng Luómǎ
 
Meaning: all roads lead to Rome
 
Xi Jinping's speech in Davos was rife with chengyus, suyus, aphorisms, etc. We will probably mine it for others in the coming weeks. We chose this one because a) it is easy to remember and if you use it people will probably know that Xi used it recently and b) it was used in a part of the speech that outlined China's approach to development. You've heard it many times before in many different forms, but here it is again (see original below).

Original:  这是一条从本国国情出发确立的道路。中国立足自身国情和实践,从中华文明中汲取智慧,博采东西方各家之长,坚守但不僵化,借鉴但不照搬,在不断探索中形成了自己的发展道路。条条大路通罗马。谁都不应该把自己的发展道路定为一尊,更不应该把自己的发展道路强加于人。

Source: http://m.news.cctv.com/2017/01/18/ARTI5wYY9faLCQ0WAlChxMTL170118.shtml
Social Media Watch

On January 9, internet giant Tencent launched WeChat Mini Apps (微信小程序), accessible only through the WeChat app. Mini apps use much less memory than a traditional app and can be easily acquired and discarded. If mini apps take off, millions of iPhone users could abandon the Apple App Store.
Take a tour through the Mini App store ( https://minapp.com/miniapp/ ), or read one of these handy reviews:

Video of the Week
 
"这是 最好的时代 ,也是最坏的时代。" Xi Jinping's speech at the World Economic Forum was the first by a Chinese president. Reported by many observers and analysts to be a timely defense of globalization, it was perhaps more of a first tentative step into what appears to be a growing global governance power vacuum. Yet it is worth keeping China's domestic situation in perspective. China faces many of the same challenges of populism, uneven economic distribution, and slowing economic growth that other countries are facing, not to mention serious environmental challenges and the threat of terrorism. Will China be able to sacrifice certain national interests for the greater good of global governance? And will the Chinese state be willing to remove itself from the economy to a degree that allows China to attain the heights of Xi's rhetoric? Time will tell, but history may be a guide.
Unfortunately, the only video version we can find is the official one with English  interpretation. You can still hear the Chinese in the background, but the English is louder and distracting. If anyone knows where to find the full Chinese version please send it to us or post to our  Facebook  page.



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