President Nixon visited China in 1972, becoming the first US president to do so since the Communist Party came to power in 1949. This historic visit marked a major shift, as the US sought to improve relations with China during the Cold War by establishing open trade between the two countries. Nixon and Chinese leaders likely discussed issues of foreign policy and economics during their talks. The visit was considered one of the most important events of modern history because it represented a significant reduction in tensions between the US and a major Communist nation.

1. Heading:
MODERN CHINA ISSUES
President Nixon Goesto China February 21, 1972
Look at the tags on your clothes or your backpack and see where they were made. There's a chance it was China. Today,
the U.S. has an open-trade policy with China, which means goods are traded freely between the two countries, but it
wasn't always this way. Prior to 1972, China did not trade any goods with the United States. On February 21, 1972,
President Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for an official trip. He was the first U.S. president to visit the People's
Republic of China since it was established in 1949. This was an important event because the U.S. was seeking to improve
relations with a Communist country during the Cold War.
1. What sorts of issues do you think Nixon discussed?
2. Why would historians consider this one of the most important events in modern history?
China's Xi Jinping agrees $46bn superhighway to Pakistan BBC News April 20, 2015
The focus of spending is on building a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the long-time
allies. They will run some 3,000km (1,800 miles) from Gwadar in Pakistan to China's western Xinjiang region. Theprojects will give China direct
access to the Indian Ocean and beyond. This marks a major advance in China's plans to boost its influence in Central and South Asia, correspondents
say, and far exceeds US spending in Pakistan.
"Pakistan, for China, is now of pivotalimportance. This has to succeed and be seen to succeed," Reuters quoted Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman
of the Pakistani parliament's defense committee, as saying. Pakistan, for its part, hopes theinvestment will strengthen its struggling economy and
help end chronic power shortages. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said ties with China had "remained robust" despitepolitical changes and
"major regional developments" over four generations. "Our relations are based on the shared ideals and principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit and
mutual respect," he said.
Is Pakistan on the verge of becoming the Asian Tiger Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said it would become when he was last in power in 1997? China
plans to inject some $46bn - almost three times theentire foreign direct investment Pakistan has received since 2008. Many say Mr Sharif's penchant
for "thinking big" and China's increasing need to control maritime trade routes may well combine to pull off an economic miracle in Pakistan. But
there are questions over Pakistan's ability to absorb this investment given its chronic problems with militancy, separatism, political volatility and
official corruption. China is worried about violence from ethnic Uighurs in its mostly Muslimnorth-western Xinjiang region and fears hard-line
separatists could team up with Uighur militants fighting alongside members of Pakistan's Taliban.
In Pakistan, a decade-old separatist insurgency in Balochistan province, where the economic corridor starts, makes that area extremely volatile. Many
observers believe however that the incentive of an economic miracle may make Islamabad work harder to stabilize the situation.
Mr Xi will spend two days holding talks with his counterpart Mamnoon Hussain, Mr Sharif and other ministers. He was expected to discuss security
issues with Mr Sharif, including China's concerns that Muslimseparatists fromXinjiang are linking up with Pakistani militants. "China and Pakistan
need to align security concerns more closely to strengthen security co-operation," Mr Xi said on Sunday.
Under the CPEC plan, China's government and banks will lend to Chinese companies, so they can invest in projects as commercial ventures. Some
$15.5bn worth of coal, wind, solar and hydro energy projects will come online by 2017 and add 10,400 megawatts of energy to Pakistan's national
grid, according to officials. A $44m optical fiber cable between the two countries is also due to be built. Pakistan, meanwhile, hopes the investment
will enable it to transform itself into a regional economic hub.
Ahsan Iqbal, the Pakistani minister overseeing the plan, told AFP news agency that these were "very substantial and tangible projects which will
have a significant transformative effect". Pakistan's neighbor and rival, India, will be watching developments closely. Delhi is wary of China's
regional ambitions, despiterelations improving markedly in recent years. President Xi visited Delhi last year, after postponinghis visit to Islamabad
because of anti-government protests. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modiis due in China next
month.
3. Draw a labeled map of the Chinese plan.
4. Why is China building this project?
5. What issues might complicate the building of this project?
6. Why does Pakistan want this project?

2. The Mao taboo: Criticizing the founder ofCommunist China is still considered blasphemous
Apr 18th 2015 | BEIJING | The Economist
WHEN a video of Chinese television host Bi Fujian calling Mao Zedong “a son of a bitch” at a private dinner party was
posted online earlier this month, it went viral. The popular-television host was suspended from his job and the clip taken
down. The authorities reportedly asked local media to cool discussion of the episode, but online chatter continues
unabated.
The gaffe has embarrassed the Communist Party because Mr Bi is one of the best-known faces of China Central
Television, the state broadcaster. As wellas glitzy talent shows, he presents Chinese television’s most-watched event, the
tightly scripted Spring Festival gala. The video, apparently filmed secretly, shows him singing his own mocking lyrics to a
Mao-era opera while his guests laugh. The snitch has not been unmasked, while several prominent figures have been
quick to say that they were not present. Mr Bi has apologized publicly and promised to “exercise strict self-discipline”.
Chinese media present Mr Bi’s comments as just one example of celebrity brashness. On April 8th Xinhua, a state news
agency, attacked Wang Sicong, the son of China’s wealthiest person, for “vulgar” remarks on his microblog (mostly about
dogs and large-breasted women). Global Times, a Beijing newspaper,recently emphasized that public figures are never
beyond scrutiny.
But Mr Bi’s wisecracks went further,by challenging a great taboo. In 1981, five years after Mao died, Deng Xiaoping
issued his verdict: the late leader, responsible for ten of millions of deaths through political violence and mass famine, had
been “70% right and 30% wrong”. Despite occasional calls for a reappraisal, this assessment prevails. Indeed the current
president, Xi Jinping, emphasizes the party’s Maoist origins and has a penchant for Mao-style sloganeering.
Mao is still portrayed as the nation’s father. His image is everywhere. Every banknote bears his face,and his portrait
hangs at the entrance to the Forbidden City. Though Mr Xi has crafted a narrative about the hardships he and others
suffered during the Cultural Revolution, criticizing Mao himself remains blasphemous. Once people start to laugh at the
emperor, all authority is in doubt.
7. How is China’s free speech different than the USA?
8. How is Chinese media different from the USA?
9. How do Chinese people view Chairman Mao in Modern China?
10. Two reasons Americans should be concerned about the rise of modern China.
A.
B.
11. Two reasons Americans should not feelthreatened by China
A.
B.