[Annotated] China's leaders should study James Bond films

Revealing one's master plan too early can be dangerous

By the time Chinese censors finally allowed a James Bond film to be shown in a mainland cinema, in 2007, the franchise was more than four decades old. Only thanks to rampant piracy were^[각주:1] Chinese familiar with the British spy, commonly referred to by his code name^[각주:2], Ling ling qi. Chinese leaders would do well to study^[각주:3] a plot device^[각주:4] beloved in the early films: the moment when a ruthless genius explains his plans for world domination to a captive Bond, believing him moments from death. With the reliability of a well-tuned Aston Martin, the bragging turns out to be ill-timed^[각주:5]. Within moments^[각주:6] Bond is free, the villain^[각주:7]'s lair^[각주:8] ablaze^[각주:9] and his schemes thwarted^[각주:10]. Today in the real world, China faces unusual resistance to its bid for a front seat as a global power. Surprisingly often, China's woes^[각주:11] stem from what^[각주:12] film critics might term^[각주:13] Bond-villain blunders^[각주:14], involving premature^[각주:15] admissions of ambition^[각주:16]. 

Take the ongoing campaign by American officials to scold allies into shunning Chinese high-technology for 5G mobile-telecommunications networks. The secretary of state^[각주:17], Mike Pompeo, says that America may refuse to share intelligence with governments that install kit from such tech giants as Huawei, a firm that Mr Pompeo accuses of having "deep connections" to Chinese spy services. Allies grumble that^[각주:18] American officials have not shared hard evidence to^[각주:19] back their claims. On March 15th Li Keqiang, China's prime minister, declared that his government would never ask companies to break the law to spy on other countries, insisting: "This is not how China behaves." Alas, Mr Li's words cannot fully soothe foreign governments^[각주:20] and businesses who know what Chinese law openly permits. Notably^[각주:21], an intelligence law of 2017 decrees that^[각주:22] all Chinese organizations and citizens are obliged to^[각주:23] cooperate with^[각주:24] national intelligence-gathering operations^[각주:25]. None may demur^[각주:26] if spooks requisition^[각주:27] their premises^[각주:28] or equipment.

China hawks in America, among them Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, have seized on^[각주:29] another admission: the "Made in China 2025" plan, an ambitious road map for^[각주:30] high-tech industrial policy^[각주:31] adopted four years ago. A Senate committee which Mr Rubio chairs issued a report in February examining targets linked to Made in China 2025 that call for Chinese firms to dominate domestic markets for such products as semiconductors and electric vehicles. The report concedes that^[각주:32], in one respect, Americans should thank state planners for identifying favoured industries^[각주:33]. China's plans provide "a blueprint for effective defensive action", from tariffs punishing unfair technology transfers^[각주:34], to schemes supporting American firms^[각주:35], Team Rubio writes. 

Nor is Europe rolling over like^[각주:36] a Bond villain's cat. On March 12th the European Commission and the European Union's foreign policy arm, the EU External Action Service, issued a strikingly^[각주:37] bleak^[각주:38] strategic paper on China. The document calls China a partner when battling such global menaces as climate change^[각주:39], as well as an economic competitor. But it also calls China a "systemic rival" whose engagement with the world of norms, rules and multilateral organizations is^[각주:40] "selective" at best^[각주:41], and at worst weakens that order^[각주:42]. Like America's Senate, the Euro-paper also singles out the Made in China 2025 plan^[각주:43]. It sees a scheme to shield high-tech national champions from competition, while EU firms are forced to hand prized technologies^[각주:44] to local partners as a precondition for entering China's markets^[각주:45]. The EU paper urges European governments to maintain unity as they demand reciprocal^[각주:46] trade terms^[각주:47]. 

Europe's unity will be tested when President Xi Jinping visits Italy between March 22nd and 24th. While there he aims to sign that country up for the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure scheme. America and some European governments have urged Italy to be cautious about endorsing a project that is - as critics tell it - a debt-fulled master plan for^[각주:48] a parallel, China-led global order^[각주:49]. China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, urged Italy to ignore such qualms^[각주:50] and sign up, saying: "We trust you'll stick to the decision you have independently made." As for^[각주:51] Made in China 2025, Chinese officials downplay its import^[각주:52], calling it just another plan from a nation full of planners, whose most alarming buy-Chinese targets are from non-binding guidance documents. 

In a bid to^[각주:53] sweeten trade-war peace talks with^[각주:54] America, China announced that it will enact a new foreign-investment law in^[각주:55] January. Among other promises, the law says that overseas firms' secrets will^[각주:56] not be leaked when shared with government regulators. Foreign chambers of commerce in China responded warily^[각주:57], nothing the law's lack of detail. For many foreign executives in China, industrial policies announced over the past four years are a Bond-villainesque instance of^[각주:58] candour^[각주:59]. It is when they realized that China's long-term vision for the future may not include them at all. 

Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die

It is often said that today's China is more assertive. Certainly China has broken with the dictum of the early 1990s, coined by the then-supreme leader, Deng Xiaoping, that China should "hide its capacities and bide its times^[각주:60]". In truth China is now too big to hide. It has always mixed bursts of assertiveness with promises to^[각주:61] open markets and protect foreign firms. What is new is that this China is impatient. Officials increasingly chafe when foreign powers cite global norms and rules as grounds for disapproval. A public steeped in propaganda about^[각주:62] China's greatness is indignant when^[각주:63] the country is - as ordinary Chinese see it - denied due respect^[각주:64]. All those forces stoke^[각주:65] impatience^[각주:66]. Whether that backfires^[각주:67] depends on how other countries respond. America could ban its high-tech firms from some forms of business with China. European governments could start screening Chinese investments more strictly^[각주:68]. Predicting the West's response is made harder by President Donald Trump. He is as bored by norms and rules, and as obsessed with respect, as any Bond villain. Privately, smart Chinese policy types lament^[각주:69] their country's new fondness for^[각주:70] boasting^[각주:71]. Many Chinese officials will not listen; they are in too great a hurry. 

1. rampant ; 1. (나쁜 것이) 걷잡을 수 없는, 만연[횡행]하는 ; 유의어 unchecked ;; [ADJ] If you describe something bad, such as a crime or disease, as rampant, you mean that it is very common and is increasing in an uncontrolled way. [본문으로]
2. code name ; [명사] 암호[코드]명 ;; [NOUN] A code name is a name used for someone or something in order to keep their identity secret. [본문으로]
3. do well to do sth ; ~하는 것이 온당[현명]하다 ;; be sensible or wise to do something [본문으로]
4. device ; 3. (특정한 결과·효과를 낳는) 방법 ;; 4. 방책, 계책 [본문으로]
5. ill-timed ; [형용사] 때가 좋지 않은 ; 시기를 놓친, 때를 못 만난, 기회가 나쁜(badly timed, inopportune). ; 반의어 well timed [본문으로]
6. within moments ; 잠깐 사이에, 순식간에, 찰나에 [본문으로]
7. villain ; 1. (이야기·연극 등의 중심인물인) 악당[악한] ;; 2. 악인, 악한 ;; 3. (英, 비격식) 범죄자 ;; [NOUN] A villain is someone who deliberately harms other people or breaks the law in order to get what he or she wants [본문으로]
8. lair ; 2. (사람이 숨거나 혼자 있기 위해 가는) 은신처 ; 유의어 den, hideout [본문으로]
9. ablaze ; [부사, 서술형용사] 1. 타올라서(on fire, in a blaze). ;; 2. 빛나서(gleaming). ;; 3. 흥분하여(excited). ;; [ADJ] [v n ADJ, v-link ADJ] Something that is ablaze is burning very fiercely. ;; 미국∙영국 [əˈbleɪz] [본문으로]
10. thwart ; [타동사][VN] [흔히 수동태로] ~ sth | ~ sb (in sth) (계획 등을) 좌절시키다 ; 유의어 frustrate ;; [VERB] If you thwart someone or thwart their plans, you prevent them from doing or getting what they want. [본문으로]
11. woe ; 2. [보통 pl.] 불행, 재난, 재앙, 화 ;; 미국식 [woʊ] [본문으로]
12. stem from ; [동사](진행형으로는 쓰이지 않음) …에 기인하다, …에 유래하다. ; 유의어 originate in, emanate from ;; to be caused by something; to be the result of something. [본문으로]
13. term ; [타동사] …을 …이라 일컫다, 부르다, 칭하다(name, call). [본문으로]
14. blunder ; 어리석은 실수, 큰 실수, 대 실책(gross or stupid mistake). [본문으로]
15. premature ; [형용사] 1. 조숙한, 올된; 시기상조의, 조급한, 너무 이른; 때 아닌 ;; [ADJ] [usu ADJ n] Something that is premature happens earlier than usual or earlier than people expect. [본문으로]
16. admission ; 2. [C] ~ (of sth) | ~ (that …) (특히 범행·잘못 등에 대한) 시인[인정] [본문으로]
17. secretary of state ; 1. (Sec·re·tary) (영국에서 정부 중요 부처의) 장관[대신] ;; 2. (미국에서) 국무 장관 ;; [NOUN] [usu the N in sing] In the United States, the Secretary of State is the head of the government department which deals with foreign affairs. [본문으로]
18. grumble ; [자, 타동사] 1. ~ (at/to sb) (about/at sb/sth) 투덜[툴툴]거리다 [본문으로]
19. hard evidence ; 구체적인 증거 [본문으로]
20. soothe ; 3. …을 기쁘게 하다, …의 비위를 맞추다. ;; [VERB] If you soothe someone who is angry or upset, you make them feel calmer. [본문으로]
21. notably ; 1. 특히 ; 유의어 especially ;; 2. 현저히, 뚜렷이 ; 유의어 remarkably ;; [ADV] [ADV group/cl] You use notably to specify an important or typical example of something that you are talking about. [본문으로]
22. decree ; [자, 타동사](decreeing, decreed, decreed) (법령판결 등에 따라) 명하다[결정하다] [본문으로]
23. be obliged[compelled, forced] to ;; 하는 수 없이 …하다 ;; 어쩔 수 없이, 의무적으로 …하다 [본문으로]
24. cooperate with ; ~에 협조하다 [본문으로]
25. intelligence gathering ; 정보 수집 [본문으로]
26. demur ; 1. 이의를 말하다, 반대하다, 불평하다(take exception, raise objections). ;; [VERB] If you demur, you say that you do not agree with something or will not do something that you have been asked to do. ;; 미국∙영국 [dɪˈmɜː(r)] [본문으로]
27. requisition ; [타동사] 2. 요구하다, 요청하다(demand, call for)(略: req.). ;; [VERB] If people in authority requisition a vehicle, building, or food, they formally demand it and take it for official use. [본문으로]
28. premises ; [pl.] (한 사업체가 소유·사용하는 건물이 딸린) 부지[지역], 구내 ;; [NOUN:PLURAL] a piece of land together with its buildings, esp considered as a place of business ;; 미국∙영국 [ˈpremɪsɪz] [본문으로]
29. seize on sth ; (특히 이롭게 이용할 수 있겠다 싶어서) ~에 달려들다 ; 유의어 pounce on/upon [본문으로]
30. road map ; 2. (일·계획 등에 일목요연하게 정리한) 지침, 로드 맵 ;; [NOUN] A road map is a map which shows the roads in a particular area in detail. [본문으로]
31. industrial policy ; 산업 정책 [본문으로]
32. concede ; 1. ~ sth (to sb) | ~ sb sth (무엇이 옳거나 논리적임을) 인정하다[수긍하다] ;; [VERB] If you concede something, you admit, often unwillingly, that it is true or correct. [본문으로]
33. favoured (英) (美 favored) ; 1. 특혜를 받는 ;; 2. 사람들이 선호하는 ;; 3. (격식) (조건 등이) 좋은 [본문으로]
34. technology transfer ; (특히 선진국에서 개발 도상국에의) 기술 이전 [본문으로]
35. scheme ; (~ (for doing sth) | ~ (to do sth)) 1. (英) (운영) 계획, 제도 ; 참조 colour scheme, pension scheme ;; [NOUN] [oft N to-inf, n N] A scheme is a plan or arrangement involving many people which is made by a government or other organization. in AM, use program [본문으로]
36. roll over ; to be easily defeated without even trying [본문으로]
37. strikingly ; [부사] 두드러지게, 눈에 띄게 [본문으로]
38. bleak ; (bleak·er, bleak·est) 1. (상황이) 암울한, 절망적인 ;; [ADJ] If a situation is bleak, it is bad, and seems unlikely to improve. [본문으로]
39. menace ; 협박, 위협(threat) ; 위험(impending peril). ;; [NOUN] [usu sing, oft N to n, N of n] If you say that someone or something is a menace to other people or things, you mean that person or thing is likely to cause serious harm.;; 미국∙영국 [ˈmenəs] [본문으로]
40. multilateral ; 2. 여러 나라가 참가하는, 다국간(間)의, 다자간의. ; <참고> unilateral, bilateral [본문으로]
41. selective ; 2. (물건이) 선택[정선]된 ; (행위·영향 등이) 선택적인. ;; [ADJ] [ADJ n] A selective process applies only to a few things or people. [본문으로]
42. weaken ; 1. (능력·세력 등을) 약화시키다; 약화되다 ; 반의어 strengthen ;; [VERB] If you weaken something or if it weakens, it becomes less strong or less powerful. [본문으로]
43. single out ; [동사] 선발하다, 선정하다, 뽑아내다. ; 유의어 pick, choose. [본문으로]
44. prized ; [형용사] [명사 앞에만 씀] (누구에게) 소중한 ;; 중요한, 가치 있는, 비장(秘藏)의 [본문으로]
45. precondition ; [명사] ~ (for/of sth) 전제 조건 ; 유의어 prerequisite ;; [NOUN] If one thing is a precondition for another, it must happen or be done before the second thing can happen or exist. [본문으로]
46. reciprocal ; [형용사] 상호간의 ;; [ADJ] A reciprocal action or agreement involves two people or groups who do the same thing to each other or agree to help each another in a similar way. ;; 미국∙영국 [rɪˈsɪprəkl] [본문으로]
47. trade terms ; (무역) 무역조건, 트레이드 텀즈, 개별적인 무역계약을 구성하는 기초적 조건을 말한다. [본문으로]
48. master plan ; [sing.] (복잡한 사업의 자세한) 기본 설계[종합 계획] ;; [NOUN] A master plan is a clever plan that is intended to help someone succeed in a very difficult or important task [본문으로]
49. parallel ; [형용사] 2. <목적·경향 등이> 서로 같은; 같은 방향의; 같은 종류의, 비슷한 ;; [ADJ] [oft ADJ with/to n] Parallel events or situations happen at the same time as one another, or are similar to one another. [본문으로]
50. qualm ; [주로 복수로] ~ (about sth) 1. (잠깐 가볍게 일어나는) 현기, 메스꺼움, 욕지기(queasiness, nausea). ;; 2. (갑작스러운) 불안(uneasiness), 걱정, 의심(misgiving, doubt) ; 양심의 가책, 거리낌(compunction, scruple). ;; [NOUN] If you have no qualms about doing something, you are not worried that it may be wrong in some way. ;; 미국∙영국 [kwɑːm; kwɔːm] [본문으로]
51. as for ; ~에 대해서 말하자면 ; 유의어 regarding ;; turning to the subject of somebody/something [본문으로]
52. downplay ; [타동사][VN] 경시하다, 대단치 않게 생각하다 ; 유의어 play down ;; [VERB] If you downplay a fact or feature, you try to make people think that it is less important or serious than it really is. [본문으로]
53. in a bid to do ; …하기 위하여, …을 겨냥하여 [본문으로]
54. sweeten ; 2. [타동사] ~ sb (up) (비격식) 감언이설을 하다, 회유하다 ;; 3. [타동사] 더 유쾌하게[받아들이기 좋게] 만들다 ;; [VERB] If you sweeten food or drink, you add sugar, honey, or another sweet substance to it. [본문으로]
55. enact ; 1. <법률을> 제정하다, 규정하다; <법률이 …이라고> 규정하다 ;; [VERB] When a government or authority enacts a proposal, they make it into a law. [본문으로]
56. overseas firm ; [명사] 현지기업, 재외기업, 해외기업 [본문으로]
57. warily ; [부사] 조심하여, 방심하지 않고 ;; 미국∙영국 [wέərəli] [본문으로]
58. -esque ; [접미사] (형용사에서) …풍[식]의 [본문으로]
59. candour (英) (美 can·dor) ;; [U] 솔직함 ; 유의어 frankness ; 참조 candid ;; [NOUN] Candour is the quality of speaking honestly and openly about things.;; 미국∙영국 [ˈkændə(r)] [본문으로]
60. bide one's time ; 기회[때]를 기다리다[엿보다] [본문으로]
61. assertiveness ; [명사] 자기 주장 ;; 단정적임, 독단적임. [본문으로]
62. be steeped in ; ~이 아주 많다[풍부하다] ;; have a lot of a particular quality [본문으로]
63. indignant ; (악·부정·비열한 행위 등으로) 분개한, 성난 ((at, with, over, about)) ;; [ADJ] If you are indignant, you are shocked and angry, because you think that something is unjust or unfair. ;; 미국∙영국 [ɪnˈdɪɡnənt] [본문으로]
64. due respect ; 당연한 존경, 상당한 경의 [본문으로]
65. stoke ; 2. [타동사] ~ sth (up) (감정을) 더 부추기다[돋우다] ;; [VERB] If you stoke a fire, you add coal or wood to it to keep it burning.;; 미국식 [stoʊk] 영국식 [stəʊk] [본문으로]
66. impatience ; 1. [때로 an ~] 성급함; 조급, 안달, 초조, 조바심 ((of)); (고통·압박 등을) 참을 수 없음 ;; 2. 갈망; (…하고 싶어) 못 견딤 [본문으로]
67. backfire ; 1. [자동사] ~ (on sb) 역효과를 낳다 ;; [VERB] If a plan or project backfires, it has the opposite result to the one that was intended. [본문으로]
68. screen ; 3. …의 적격 심사를 하다, <지원자 등을> 심사[선발]하다, 가려내다 ((out)) [본문으로]
69. lament ; 2. (깊이) 후회하다, 애석히 여기다, 안타까워하다 ;; [VERB] If you lament something, you express your sadness, regret, or disappointment about it. [본문으로]
70. fondness ; 2. [보통 a ~] 좋아함, (…에 대한) 기호(嗜好), 취미 ((for)) [본문으로]
71. boasting ; [명사, 형용사] 자랑; 자랑하는, 자랑하고 싶어 하는 [본문으로]