A Burgeoning Strategic Partnership:China and Eritrea celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Eritrea.In an interview with ChinAfrica,Cai Ge,Chinese ambassador to Eritrea,shares his views and vision on the development of bilateral relations.An edited excerpt of his views follows.

Personification in Chinese Diplomatic Discourse and the Construction of National Identity Based on Corpus:A Case Study of the Regular Press Conference of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

With the development of the major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics,diplomatic discourse,as an important part of building China’s international discourse power,has attracted much attention.Personification is a common means in diplomatic discourse.By giving anthropomorphic expressions to countries,regions,institutions and policies,the purpose of building national identity and establishing national image can be achieved.Based on conceptual metaphor theory and national identity theory,this paper focuses on personification in diplomatic discourse with a case study of the regular press conference of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.It is found that the spokesperson skillfully constructed China’s positive national identity,such as peace-loving,openness and inclusiveness by using a large number of body metaphor,kinship metaphor and role metaphor.

Deliberate Metaphor in Political Discourse——Based on Xi Jinping’s Diplomatic Discourse

Since Steen proposed the theory of deliberate metaphor, many scholars have studied this linguistic phenomenon from different perspectives. Deliberate metaphor, based on language and cognition, introduces communication into metaphor research and can be seen as an extension of conceptual metaphor. Deliberate metaphor is essentially a discourse strategy, which uses metaphorical expressions to make listeners consciously compare the target domain with the source domain and establish an online cross-domain mapping. In view of this, the author takes Xi Jinping’s diplomatic speeches published in FMA as research corpora, and systematically analyzes how deliberate metaphors play their persuasive and communicative functions in political discourse, and finally delves into whether deliberate nature in political metaphors affects people’s attitudes and beliefs, thus conducting cross fusion research on cognitive rhetoric and political discourse.

Manipulation in the Translation of Diplomatic Discourse

Manipulation in translation is generally seen as the linguistic manifestation of intervening strategies meant to hide or change the true intentions.It is broadly defined as“all that appears as new with respect to the original,or fails to appear where it might have been expected.”Aspects of the manipulative lineament of translation,particularly of political and diplomatic discourse,have been held forth by a host of scholars,many of whom advise that translation should be studied within a broader political and cultural context,with regard to institutional and ideological components.

Cooperation with industry partners and academia provides British SMEs a very powerful and efficient business model--Interview with Mr.Jason Kent,Chief Executive Officer of British Textile Machinery Association

The textile market has been quite buoyant,in part due to the world eCo-nomic challenges that have seen sourcing in the UK as both competitive and rich in desirable sustainable products.The ever-widening sector in technical textiles as driven innovation strongly here in the UK which has seen an increase in activ-ity in the machine building industry.

Postpartum depression and partner support during the period of lactation:Correlation research and its influencing factors

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression(PPD)not only affects the psychological and physiological aspects of maternal health but can also affect neonatal growth and development.Partners who are in close contact with parturient women play a key role in communication and emotional support.This study explores the PPD support relationship with partners and its influencing factors,which is believed to establish psychological well-being and improve maternal partner support.AIM To explore the correlation between PPD and partner support during breastfeeding and its influencing factors.METHODS Convenience sampling was used to select lactating women(200 women)who underwent postpartum examinations at the Huzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital from July 2022 to December 2022.A cross-sectional survey was conducted on the basic information(general information questionnaire),depression level[edinburgh postnatal depression scale(EPDS)],and partner support score[dyadic coping inventory(DCI)]of the selected subjects.Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between PPD and DCI in lactating women.Factors affecting PPD levels during lactation were analyzed using multiple linear regression.RESULTS The total average score of EPDS in 200 lactating women was(9.52±1.53),and the total average score of DCI was(115.78±14.90).Dividing the EPDS,the dimension scores were:emotional loss(1.91±0.52),anxiety(3.84±1.05),and depression(3.76±0.96).Each dimension of the DCI was subdivided into:Pressure communication(26.79±6.71),mutual support(39.76±9.63),negative support(24.97±6.68),agent support(6.87±1.92),and joint support(17.39±4.19).Pearson’s correlation analysis demonstrated that the total mean score and individual dimension scores of EPDS during breastfeeding were inversely correlated with the total score of partner support,stress communication,mutual support,and cosupport(P<0.05).The total mean score of the EPDS and its dimensions were positively correlated with negative support(P<0.05).Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the main factors affecting PPD during breastfeeding were marital harmony,newborn health,stress communication,mutual support,negative support,cosupport,and the total score of partner support(P<0.05).CONCLUSION PPD during breastfeeding was associated with marital harmony,newborn health,stress communication,mutual support,negative support,joint support,and the total DCI score.

China Remains Africa’s Top Trading Partner

China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years,with bilateral trade reaching a record$282.1 billion in 2023,Ministry of Commerce official Jiang Wei said at a press conference on 31 January.Economic and trade cooperation is the ballast and propeller of China-Africa relations,he said.

Research on Partner Selection in Enterprise Innovation Ecosystem

In the face of fierce market competition,enterprises must ensure the competitiveness of their products or services through technological innovation.However,the complexity of technology often surpasses the capabilities of individual enterprises,leading them to deepen cooperation with other organizations.The entities within the enterprise innovation ecosystem depend on each other,collaborate closely,and rely on core enterprises to integrate resources,thereby creating system value and enhancing competitiveness.The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of selecting appropriate ecosystem partners.It begins by providing an overview of relevant concepts,characteristics,selection factors,and methods.Subsequently,it analyzes the roles,resources,and synergy evolution of the entities within the ecosystem.An evaluation system encompassing operation,core,synergy,and development capability is then established.This system comprises 16 indicators,including organization scale and reputation,and is accompanied by a hierarchical evaluation model.Finally,the validity of the evaluation system is confirmed through empirical analysis,utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method.

Partners of patients with ulcerative colitis exhibit a biologically relevant dysbiosis in fecal microbial metacommunities

AIM To investigate alterations in the fecal microbiome using 16 S r RNA amplicon sequencing in couples in the same cohabitation environment.METHODS Fecal samples were collected from eight ulcerative colitis(UC) patients and their healthy partners at Lishui People's Hospital, Zhejiang Province, China. DNA was extracted and the variable regions V3 and V4 of the 16 S r RNA genes were PCR amplified using a two-step protocol. Clear reads were clustered into operational taxonomic units(OTUs) at the 97% sequence similarity level using UCLUST v1.2.22. The Wilcoxon rank-sumtest(R v3.1.2) was used to compare inter-individual differences. Differences with a P value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.RESULTS Fecal microbial communities were more similar among UC patients than their healthy partners(P = 0.024). UC individuals had a lower relative abundance of bacteria belonging to the Firmicutes, especially Blautia, Clostridium, Coprococcus and Roseburia(P < 0.05). Microbiota dysbiosis was detected in UC patients and their healthy partners. Relevant genera included Akkermansiam, Bacteroides, Escherichia, Lactobacillales, Klebsiella and Parabacteroides. The enriched pathways in fecal samples of UC patients were related to lipid and nucleotide metabolism. Additionally, the pathways involved in membrane transport and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins were more abundant in the healthy partners.CONCLUSION Our results suggested that the microbial composition might be affected in healthy partners cohabiting with UC patients, especially in terms of microbiota dysbiosis.

Relationship between the Existence of Exercise Partners and Exercise Habits in University Students in Japan

We investigated the relationships between the existence of exercise partners and exercise habits among Japanese university students. Subjects were 650 university students (539 males, 111 females;age range 18 - 27 years). They responded to an anonymous questionnaire asking about current and past exercise habits, preference for exercise (i.e., like or dislike of exercise), and the existence of one or more exercise partners. In the results, the existence of exercise partners had a significant association with exercise habits at each school stage in both genders. Exercise preference had a significant association with exercise habits during high school in both genders;during primary and middle school, however, this association was significant only in males. In males, exercise habits and the preference for exercising in high school affected current exercise habits. In females, only exercise habits in high school affected current exercise habits. Our results suggest that the existence of one or more exercise partners is important for the practice of exercise, as well as the preference for exercise. They also suggest that continuity of exercise habits is different between males and females.

Understanding the YouTube Partners and Their Data： Measurement and Analysis

User generated content,e.g.,from YouTube,the most popular online video sharing site,is one of the major sources of today's big data and it is crucial to understand their inherent characteristics.Recently,YouTube has started working with content providers(known as YouTube partners) to promote the users' watching and sharing activities.The substantial benefit is to further augment its service and monetize more videos,which is crucial to both YouTube and its partners,as well as to other providers of relevant services.In this paper,our main contribution is to analyze the massive amounts of video data from a YouTube partner's view.We make effective use of Insight,a new analytics service of YouTube that offers simple data analysis for partners.To provide the practical guidance from the raw Insight data,we enable more complex investigations for the inherent features that affect the popularity of the videos.Our findings facilitate YouTube partners to re-design current video publishing strategies,having more opportunities to attract more views.

Political Words in Diplomatic Translation

The translation of political words in diplomacy is the central topic in this thesis.The thesis analyses the translation of political words with specific examples with discussing the main features of diplomatic language.The method of the thesis is taxonomic study.Politi cal words are with unique features of formalness,tactfulness and sensitiveness.Choosing different strategies according to the type of political words is the key in political translation.The thesis focuses on discussing how to translate fix expressions,formal word,terms and four-char acter phrases.

Narrative Framing on C- E Translation of President Xi's Diplomatic Speeches

Narratives are"the everyday stories we live by"(Baker, 2006:3), they are featured by inter-media, inter-disciplines and inter-genres and play key role in cross-cultural communication. Narratives not only represent reality, but constitute reality by"accentuating, undermining or modifying aspects of the narrative(s) encoded in the source text or utterance"(Baker, 2006:5) in a way to intensify or weaken international political conflict, and in doing so participate in shaping social reality. The narrative account on translation raised up by Mona Baker"may constitute yet another turning point in translation studies"(Fan, 2009: 57), because she reveals that translation not only closely connects politics, but also creates politics(Baker, 2011:6). This provides a theoretical basis for us to discuss how translation shapes political speeches from the perspective of narration.Framing is what makes narratives takes into effective. The thesis will interpret translation of President Xi's diplomatic speeches from Baker's narrative account by the following framing means: labeling and repositioning of participants. It analyzes how President Xi's diplomatic speeches serves for enhancing consensus and reducing conflicts. It is hoped that the thesis will offer some suggestions on building a narrative system with Chinese characteristics and establishing more effective and skilled strategies for international communication.

Study on Pragmatic Vagueness in Diplomatic Language

Vagueness in natural language is one of the most common social phenomenon, however, it was not until the development of fuzzy set theory which was put forward by L.A. Zadeh that scholars began to realize the importance of vagueness in language. Up to now, many researchers have made substantial progress in describing and explaining this complex phenomenon. In this thesis, the writer aims at studying the linguistic devices of vagueness and their pragmatic functions to help the general readers to have a better understanding of vagueness in diplomatic language.

An Analysis of Diplomatic Vagueness and Its Translation

Diplomatic language is of vital importance in current affairs and international relationship. Many studies have been made worldwide, and exciting breakthroughs, especially those in the field of social intercourse, foreign affairs negotiation, artificial intelligence and answering to sensitive questions, have been achieved through its application. They are, however, limited to oral and written practice in speeches, addresses, negotiations and treaties between diplomats and government leaders in dealing with the political foreign affairs. This paper makes an analysis of Chinese diplomatic language, especially focuses on the pragmatic goals of the diplomatic vagueness, and then proposes some translation strategies. Firstly, it notes the definition of"vagueness", which gives the premise of diplomatic vagueness. Secondly, the pragmatic goals are analyzed and several communicative affect of this certain kind of language phenomenon. Then, the author notes the famous"functional equivalence"rule by Nida, which settle solid theoretical foundation for the research. Some cases are researched and translation strategies are proposed. It attempts to give some enlightenment to the study of communicative and translation skills in foreign affairs, also, how to be a better translator and interpreter in this aspect.

A Pragmatic Approach to Vagueness in Diplomatic Language

Fuzzy words are abundant in all human languages,and widely used in diplomatic language without exception.As one of the tactics and speech skills,appropriate vagueness can meet the special requirements of social contact and accomplish the communicative task.Vagueness has become an indispensable artistic skill for diplomatic personnel.If we analyze diplomatic vagueness from the pragmatic perspective,we can find the grounds for its existence.This thesis first discusses three different definitions of vagueness,the characteristics of diplomatic language,and the basic pragmatic theories:the Cooperative Principle,the Politeness Principle,which will be used to analyze vagueness.Then,through diplomatic examples,the author explores,in detail,the positive effects of diplomatic vagueness.From the perspective of Cooperative Principle,diplomatic vagueness violates quality maxim and quantity maxim,so as to reach certain communicative effects.From the perspective of Politeness Principle,diplomatic vagueness may obey tact maxim,agreement maxim,approbation maxim and sympathy maxim.

An Analysis of Diplomatic Escort Interpreting from the Perspective of Contextual Adaptation

Verschueren's Theory of Adaptation argues that the process of using language is the result of the language users consciously make continuous linguistic choices and adapt to the contexts, consciously or unconsciously, for language-internal and/or language-external reasons. The contextual adaptation well explains the characteristics of dynamic contextual development in diplomatic escort interpreting. It is helpful for interpreters to understand that the choice-making was constrained by different contexts in diplomatic interpreting. In addition, interpreters should adapt to the various factors of the context thus can make flexible and appropriate choices in delivering target language in order to promote the quality of interpretation and achieve the satisfactory communicative effect.

The Vague Language in Diplomatic Field from the Perspective of Pragmatics

Vague language phenomena are common in communication.With its wide application,it is not only a phenomenon in language usage,moreover,it has become a communicative strategy.The employment of vague language is an essential skill in diplomatic occasion.This paper analyzes the vague languages in diplomatic field in the perspective of pragmatics,especially from the angle of Politeness Principle and Cooperative Principle,and explains the unique functions of vague language in diplomatic field.

On the Metafunctions in Diplomatic Discourse:An Analysis on the Answer of Foreign Ministry Spokesman

Taking the answer of Foreign Ministry Spokesman as material,the essay intends to study the metafunctions in diplomatic discourse from the perspective of Systematic-Functional Grammar. According to the study of transitivity,mood,modality and thematic progression patterns in the material,it is found that the metafunctions are achieved in diplomatic discourse appropriately,and help to strengthen the preciseness, reliability and systematicness of spokesman's words.