At the invitation of Xi Jinping, DPRK leader Kim Jong-un paid an unofficial visit to China from March 25 to 28. During the visit, Xi held talks with Kim at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua] Last week's meeting between President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, indicates China is playing an essential role in the settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, according to several US analysts. Kim paid an unofficial visit to China from March 25 to Wednesday, during which he met with Xi in Beijing. China's role is essential, said Jon Taylor, professor of political science at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. The visit to Beijing and the Xi-Kim meeting has reinforced China's role as a central actor in managing security issues in Northeast Asia in general and the Korean Peninsula in particular, he said. During their Beijing meeting, Xi said China will continue to play a constructive role on the issue and work with all parties, including the DPRK, toward a thaw of the situation on the peninsula. Kim said it is his country's consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula and the DPRK is willing to have a dialogue with the United States and hold a summit between the two countries. The Xi-Kim meeting is expected to be followed by a flurry of other talks, such as the late-April summit between Kim and President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea. These are quite relevant to the summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim in May, according to Taylor, who writes about China. The willingness of the principal parties to engage in diplomacy and dialogue on the Korean Peninsula issue is a hopeful sign, Taylor told China Daily. If the Moon-Kim summit goes as well as the Xi-Kim summit, the greater the likelihood that Trump and Kim will be able to ratchet down nuclear tensions and begin to address the challenge of developing a meaningful path to peace. Yun Sun, co-director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington, said, The significance (of the Xi-Kim meeting) is that China shows the world that China is indispensable in the process and cannot be excluded. Sun said China has cooperated with Trump on sanctions and placing the maximum pressure on Kim, which has brought Pyongyang back to the negotiation table. Looking into the future, for any deal with North Korea to sustain, China will have to be included and most likely as a guarantor, she said in an email. The more consensus and amity Pyongyang and Seoul can build, between themselves and toward denuclearization, the more foundation it will pave for the engagement between Trump and Kim, she said. The Beijing meeting showed that whatever may come of the upcoming inter-Korean and North Korea-US summits, China will not be a peripheral, Ankit Panda, a senior editor with The Diplomat who covers Asia-Pacific security and the DPRK's ballistic-missile and nuclear-weapons programs, said in a Wednesday post. As this trip represents Kim's first known sojourn outside of the country to meet a foreign head of state, it suggests that the North Korean leader may not be averse to traveling outside of the country (perhaps even overseas) for a summit with the US president, said Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a commentary co-authored with Sue Mi Terry, a senior fellow at the CSIS. Ke Yian in Washington contributed to this story. custom bar braceletcustom sports braceletscustom logo wristbandsde securite pour personne ageeembossed wristbandscolorfilled wristbandsembossed printed wristbandsdual layer wristbands
BEIJING - Chinese youth are defiantly embracing a Buddha-like mindset, with slogans such as anything will do, let it be and take life as it is capturing media attention and stirring widespread debate on the usefulness of such thinking.For the young, being Buddha-like means adopting a peaceful state of mind; standing aloof from worldly gain and success; doing what you like or what you think is right; and not caring about how others think about or judge you. This mindset can offer relief and a release of negative emotions built up in the face of hardship.Master Xuecheng, president of the Buddhist Association of China, however, believes that this mindset may not stem from an understanding of the teachings of the dharma but instead be born of a sense of ennui, or even a kind of self-mockery in the face of an inability to influence things.The Buddha-like mindset has its predicaments. Escape is not the solution. One can say 'let it be' whenever one wants, but one must face reality and be a responsible person, Xuecheng says.Yu Minhong, CEO of education company New Oriental, says that some of his young employees do nothing more than they are asked to do, and would rather earn an average salary than have a more challenging job.It's nothing like me when I was young. I used to work more than ten hours a day. Even now, in fact, I can retire now, but I would feel ashamed of doing nothing for myself or for society if I retired, Yu says. Being at ease is a good thing, but being irresponsible is not.In contrast, Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese literature at Peking University, believes that the growth of this mindset is due to an increasingly affluent society freeing the young of worry about creating a better life.Zhang says that some people simply want to avoid the stresses of a ferociously competitive modern society.When maintaining a decent life is easy but going upward is hard, youngsters will develop a Buddha-like mindset, Zhang says.For some the Buddha-like youth are considered as indifferent and lacking motivation, but a number of scholars have said that it is not at odds with an enterprising spirit.Zhang believes that if this spirit is combined with hard work it could be very powerful and worth pursuing.The Buddha-like mindset can help a person maintain a good state of mind and embrace alternatives instead of sticking to a narrow life path. Meanwhile, alternative life paths entail hard work and self-improvement, Zhang says.Film maker Zheng Xiaolong believes it is important a balance is struck.It is understandable that some youngsters resort to a Buddha-like mindset in face of difficulties, but they cannot keep themselves detached from everything, Zheng says. We are brought up being taught to be successful. However, I think being a kind-hearted and upright is also a good choice so long as you make a contribution to the world.
