Enigma of Exam-oriented Education in China:A comparison on Sino-U.S.Educational Concepts in Higher Education

College English teaching in China has long been criticized for its orientation to examination that consequently brings about negative learning attitude and ineffective learning achievement.Chinese educationists have brought forward several ap proaches to solve this problem but little has been changed due to the cultural influences.This paper analyzes the roots of examoriented education system in China in perspective of culture by comparing the Sino-U.S.cultural elements in depth in tradition al culture,learning and teaching motivation,teacher-student relationship and learners'engagement in class.This paper finally poses two suggestions on how to change the current situation gradually:(1) Focus on the washback of evaluation system on edu cational concepts.(2) Transform the product-evaluation to process-evaluation gradually by standardizing the current evaluation approaches,especially the standards of process-evaluation.

Fulbright Program: A Bright Facet of Sino-U.S. People-to-People Exchange

In the history of Chinese-American people-to-people exchange,the implementation of the China-U.S.Fulbright Program is surely a bright facet which should not be ignored.This program has been cultivating talents in the fields of social sciences and humanities for the two countries,promoting Sino-U.S.communications in the domains of education,academia and culture,and propelling the diffusion and advance of both Chinese and American cultures.The Fulbright Program in China still has certain limitations waiting to be improved,and one obvious problem is its coverage in China.To solve this problem,more Chinese higher education institutions should be included in the China-U.S.Fulbright Program,and the result would be the generation of immeasurable value for the prosperity of Sino-American people-to-people exchange and therefore the construction of the new model of major country relations between China and the United States.

Bush' s China Policy and the Future of Sino-U.S.Relations

The past two years have witnessed great fluctuations ininternational oil prices,and diplomatic efforts,both above andunder the table,by major powers around this issue.The currenttension in the war-threatened Iraq has added more uncertainties to thefuture world oil situation.Will the world oil supply and demand change?What impact would this exert on big powers’ oil strategy choices,geopolitics as well as world economy?What should China do in such asituation?To find the answers to these questions,at the invitation of theeditor of the Contemporary International Relations,seven experts fromChina Institute of Contemporary International Relations gathered to have adiscussion in early February this year.Naturally,they have differentviews over many issues.Still,we hope our readers would find theirdiscussion interesting.Following is the list of participants.

China's WTO Entry Helps Sino-US Ties

China applied for restoration of its status as the GATT founding member in1986. The country has made great endeavor in reducing customs duties, removing non-tariff barriers, enhancing protection of intellectual property rights andservice trades, launching reform of the foreign trade regime, eliminating trade bar-riers and improving environment for foreign investment. Over the past 14 years,China has taken part in 26 relevant multilateral meetings and hundreds of bilateralnegotiations.

Frugality and overspending:sources of Sino-U.S.economic imbalances

Savings rates are the biggest difference in the economic structures of China and the United States,the two most important countries in today’s global economy.China has the highest savings rate of any major country,while the United States,at the other end of the spectrum, has the lowest.This paper discusses the origin of this contrast and its far-reaching implications for two-way economic and trade ties.

New Sino-US Strategic Gambling and China’s Strategy

Since confidence is fading and anxiety is increasing in the US,America’s China policy has become more radical. In the short term, the US has the upper hand and China is in a relatively passive position. In the medium-and long-term, there will be more balance between them. This current strategic gambling between China and the US will be the major issue of international politics in the first half of the 21 st century and the most prominent external challenge China faces. China needs to make strategic adjustments but the gamble may be worthwhile in correcting imbalance in the international order and in the co-evolution of the two countries.

Public-Private Partnerships to Address Global Environmental Problem： Sino-US Cooperation on Climate Change and Energy

The study indicates that public-private partnerships （PPPs） can play ＂strategic＂, ＂practical＂, or ＂regulative＂ roles by making use of ＂instrumental＂, ＂institutional＂, and ＂normative＂ approaches in tackling political issues between countries. PPPs have often been discussed in studies of urban development, service provision, health care, and so on, but they have rarely been analyzed in terms of international relations and political problems on global environmental issues. This study takes an environmental problena---Sino-US energy and climate change cooperation--as a case study to inspect the possible roles and approaches of PPPs. Sino-US cooperation has been launched such as under the Strategic ＆ Economic Dialogue （S＆ED） by both administrations, which has significantly contributed to their reconciliation of domestic abatement policies in climate change, environmental protection, and energy. The establishment of schemes such as the Ten-Year Framework for Cooperation on Energy and Environment （TYF）, the EcoPartnerships, and wide-ranging dialogues and initiatives on clean energy and clean vehicles, in which both public and private actors participate, are among the important approaches of facilitating bilateral cooperation. The study concludes that these schemes have played strategic and practical roles in strengthening the degree of mutual trust and in facilitating the progress of cooperation, although more investigations are needed to considerate their regulative roles. The application of instrumental, institutional, and normative approaches have been observed through the implementation of the TYF and EcoPartnerships.

SINO-U.S.RELATIONS:AT A NEW CROSSROADS?

In recent months,Sino-American relations have been experiencing sort of an-other round of tensions,which have raised new concerns from both sides,al-though the optimism and hope for further development built up after a major break-through last summer still persist,especially at working levels.For those who knowthe history of Sino-American relations through the last two decades,the

BUILDING UP AN OCEAN-CROSSING BRIDGE FOR SINO-US TRADE-To mark the 20th anniversary of Liulinhai's voyage to port Seattle, USA

It is April 18th again,an unforgettable date for us. 20 Vears ago, liulinhai from China Ocean Shipping Company(COSCO), the first cargo ship anchored at Seattle. It ushered in a new chapter and therefore bullt up an ocean-crossing bridge of Sino-US shipping business. Over the past 20 yearS,ships of COSCO. which shuttled between China and the United States, carrying friendship between the two countries and best wishes for peace and development, promoted greatly the Sino-US trade.

An Analysis of Cyberspace Rule-Making in China-U.S. Relations

As an established power and a rising power respectively, the U.S. and China have profound impacts on the development of cyberspace. The foundation of cyberspace governance is to constrain the behavior of every international actor with effective norms. Therefore, cyberspace rule-making has an important implication in China-U.S. relations and it is necessary for both sides to formulate cyberspace norms under mutually acceptable concepts. Besides, the ideas of＂a new type of major power relations＂ and ＂a community with a shared future for mankind＂ provide theoretical foundation for cyberspace rule-making. In the short term, the establishment of norms can be promoted by negotiating limited issues, which could be called a low-level path. In the long run, they will reach informal mechanism which can be called a middle-level path, as well as formal mechanism of mutual recognition which can be seen as a high-level path, promoting the enforcement of cyberspace norms. Besides, ＂Track Two Diplomacy＂ and ＂Track 1.5 Diplomacy＂ also benefit the process of cyberspace rule-making negotiations.

China and the United States’ Critical Roles in Tackling Climate Change and Shaping the International Regimes

This paper argues that major powers can play critical roles in a complicated regime system,as evidenced by China and the U.S.which have had pivotal influence in the construction of the post-2020 climate regime.China and the U.S.have participated in multilateral consultations beyond the scope of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)while making use of many political platforms,such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC),G20,and informal meetings and dialogues to bridge the gap among various approaches to mitigating climate impacts.China-U.S.bilateral cooperation has incorporated energy and climate issues into the strategic and economic dialogue(S&ED)and launched other schemes,such as EcoPartnerships and wide-ranging dialogues and initiatives on clean energy/clean vehicles.These schemes support the reconciliation of ideas related to domestic abatement policies in the areas of energy,climate change,and environmental protection.Since the Trump administration came to power in 2017,the bilateral cooperation at national level has been retreated significantly and therefore slowdown the UN’s institutional response to climate change.At the stage,the U.S.may not be able to play a critical role in shaping the regime,yet China is regarded to be the most important player in negotiations under the Paris Agreement.

Carbon Emission Transfer by International Trade:Taking the Case of Sino-U.S.Merchandise Trade as an Example

中美两国均为温室气体排放大国,且双边贸易额巨大。由于两国在基础设施、技术、装备水平、能源综合效率和资源禀赋上存在差异,使得通过中美商品贸易,美国将大量的碳排放转移到了中国。本文采用投入产出分析方法,结合经济、能源与贸易3个系统,建立了基于国际商品贸易的碳排放转移模型,并分别测算了1997与2002年中美商品贸易中各相应部门的碳排放转移量。研究表明:(1)1997与2002年,基于中美商品贸易的中国产业部门通过出口转移到美国的载碳量分别达到4010.13×104 与5056.21×104 t C,分别占中国相应产业部门载碳总量的6.61%与8.33%;而美国产业部门出口到中国商品的载碳量仅为290.65×104与335.61×104 t C,相应的仅占美国产业部门载碳总量的 0.53%与 0.66%;(2)1997 与 2002 年,中美商品贸易的碳转移总量分别达 3719.75×104与4719.60×104 t C,其中化学工业、金属冶炼及其压延加工业是主要的碳转移部门。(3)1997与2002年,通过国际商品贸易,美国分别有相当于其相应部门碳排放总量的6.77%与9.32%的碳被泄露到了中国,中国为美国的碳减排做出了很大的潜在贡献,因此,美国等发达国家应该为中国等发展中国家提供切实有效的气候与环境友好型技术援助。

国家崛起与信任状态:一项研究议程

一般认为,国家崛起与外部信任构建过程并不具有兼容性,崛起国与主导国之间一定会产生某种程度的猜忌和疑虑。国际关系的信任理论则认为,这种疑虑关系属于一种工具信任形态,并未排除基本信任成分。按照信任关系发展的基本层度,在工具信任、情感信任之间可以建立"关系信任"的状态,本文尝试从关系本位出发,构建关于崛起与信任之间的关系理解框架,探究二者同向展开的可能性。最近20年中美信任关系的演进过程已证实:安全崛起的良善前景,关键在于持存关系信任,重视共在策略,增续情感成分,调整相互预期,避免长期滞留于低信任层度。

Fact Sheet on Sino-U.S. Trade

July 1979 China and the United States signed a three-year trade agreement in Beijing, which grants each other the status of most favored nation. September 1980 The two countries signed their first textile trade agreement September 1983 Frictions over textile trade were resolved by a second textile trade agreement.

Stop Toying Around With Sino-U.S. Relations

Since early March this year,the outcry concerning the quality of Chinese export commodities, from cosmetics to foodstuffs to toys, has been deafening,particularly from certain congressmen, presidential candidates and themedia in the United States. Tom Plate,a professor at UCLA, and Mei Xinyu,a research fellow with the Research Academy under the Chinese Ministry of Commerce,however,point out that an ineffective U.S.quality inspection system must shoulder some of the responsibility for the current safety scare.