Dedicated to the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
Apologies for the recent radio silence, but your editor has been on the road and internet connectivity has been spotty. We are planning our next "Close Read" event, so stay tuned.
Weekly Readings
Last Thursday, Beijing released a white paper on the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (北斗卫星导航系统), a Chinese equivalent to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). The Beidou system is nearing completion and signals China's impressive march into space. The white paper provides a brief overview of all the different pieces that the Chinese have used to push its space program to an advanced level (even if omitting the military's role). Since 2010 when China surpassed the United States for the first time in yearly satellite launches, China has placed more than 100 satellites into orbit as well as a small space station, Tiangong. The Beidou constellation now has 23 satellites and is expected to provide global coverage by the end of the decade.
On May 30, Xi Jinping gave a major speech on the struggle to make China a global science and technology powerhouse. 欲速则不达, from 论语, means to want something to be done in haste, but in doing so to take longer to accomplish.
This week's film is an interview with one of China's senior analysts of the United States, Da Wei (达巍) of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (中国现代国际关系研究院). The conversation addresses U.S.-China relations in light of the latest Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Da Wei directs the American Studies Institute, and he was visiting fellow in Washington, DC, for two years in the mid-2000s. Many members likely are familiar with Da Wei, and he is a relatively sober voice, despite the hawkishness often ascribed to analysts in the security apparatus. A transcript of the interview is available below the viewing window.
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