Andrew Singer Talks About China
Andrew Singer Talks About China
Vol. 1, Issue 9
Mars has been in the news recently with visits from China, the U.S., and the UAE. How will China’s expanded footprint in space intersect with the efforts of the U.S. and other countries in space exploration and development? A recent webinar looked at this question. In Chinese Art, please enjoy a Ming Dynasty, cinnabar lacquer box and a Qing Dynasty, nephrite jade boulder.
China-US Space Relations
Handling U.S.-China relations “is like holding a porcupine; there is a proper way to do it and an improper way.”
“Ignorance is really painful.”
Expanding knowledge and awareness surrounding our relations in space and offering suggestions for how to hold the porcupine were the focus of a recent webinar by the US-China Series, entitled, “The Business of Space: China’s Ambitions & the Global Context,” and a new report issued in mid-February entitled, “Lost Without Translation: Identifying Gaps in U.S. Perceptions of the Chinese Commercial Space Sector.” A video preview of the forty-page report is also available.
Why the focus on space and the potential and pitfalls awaiting up there (and down here)? Private business wants to commercialize space (yielding derivative impacts here on earth) and obtain commercial competitive advantage. Governments have political, military, and economic reasons to develop space and obtain strategic advantage. As between China and the U.S., it should not be a surprise that terrestrial concerns will often be mirrored beyond the planet as well.
China has emerged as the second highest destination for private space investment after the US. Launch, deploying large constellations of satellites, and remote sensing are focal points. China is developing a space industrial base and is in the process of signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia to work together on an international lunar research station as counterpoint to a similar U.S.-led endeavor.
How do we educate to remove ignorance? The first step is identifying knowledge gaps. Four identified areas of information asymmetry from the American perspective in the “Lost in Translation” Report include:
The question of transparency in China;
The lack of language ability to read the wealth of data points and research that exist in Chinese;
Potential systematic impediments as the two countries develop competing technology platforms; and
Cultural aspects in how both countries view the world and prefer to conduct business.
These are significant issues; however, the fact that so many outside China want to learn more about how China is thinking and acting and consider ways of working cooperatively is good news in my opinion. When there is a desire to learn more, there is intent. Where there is intent, there is motivation. Where there is motivation, things can be accomplished.
Additional takeaways from the webinar:
There is an International Space University in France that is devoted to education and is well respected by China, the U.S., and many nations;
The 1967 United Nations “Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space” has been signed onto by both China and America and remains in effect;
China is not a monolith, but rather a dynamic combination of a national team (the People’s Liberation Army, State-Owned Enterprises, and related companies) and smaller, private firms. The interplay between the two sides is not uniform or necessarily smooth, and it is not always easy to discern where the state ends and private industry begins, but both do exist; and
Many potential commercial ventures in space may have primary domestic goals that will not necessarily result in areas of competition between the two countries. Further, while it may be easier to get start-up funding/support in China, the private companies there often struggle to get customers and generate positive revenue in order to satisfy their angel investors.
If we can mitigate ignorance and get beyond our all-too-human perceptions about and reactions toward the other, then we may be able to hold on well to the porcupine and make our futures in space not as fraught as they could easily be.
Chinese Art
AsianArt.news recently shared these two objects on Instagram. The first is a carved, Ming Dynasty, cinnabar lacquer box. The second is a carved, Qing Dynasty, nephrite jade mountain boulder. Both of these pieces are luxury items and likely would have graced a scholar’s studio or private quarters.
The square, cinnabar lacquer box is from the sixteenth or seventeenth century and rises with four tiers above a low wrapped base and includes a carved cover. Each tier is deeply carved on all four sides with vibrant red flowers and vegetation set in a darker background. The cover is carved with a substantial, flared-roof pavilion at lakeside with a boat approaching the shore.
Decorating in cinnabar is not to be taken lightly. Lovely though it is, cinnabar as a pigment is a toxic mineral (mercury sulfide) and had to be treated with care. The pigmented lacquer would be layered smooth and thick on top of a wood or other core and then carved into the desired design.
The jade mountain boulder is from the eighteenth century, likely the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. It is a rich, milky, off-white nephrite with a recessed hint of darker green within the base. The central figure is a Buddhist Luohan, also known as an Arhat. He is a learned figure who has gained insight into the true nature of life. He has thus earned the ability to break free from the cycle of rebirth and enter nirvana, but is also one who is not quite at the level of achieving Buddhahood and remains connected to the earthly realm.
Here, the mystical Luohan holds a ladle and sits on a lotus seat while addressing a young boy gazing up from the lower reaches of the rocky slopes. An ancient, gnarled tree gracefully crawls up the side of the steep mountain. An inscription fills the upper left quadrant of the scene.
China Resources
The Caixin China Biz Roundup Podcast provides business and other news from China and the world, along with lighthearted, yet at times cringeworthy, jokes from the co-hosts.
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Image of Mars from the China National Space Administration
Image of Rocket Launch from the China National Space Administration