The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

As the Spring Festival approached, Liu Tao returned to the capital.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering held a conference of academicians of the two academies.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences elected 10 new academicians and the Chinese Academy of Engineering elected 15 new academicians.

In 2003, while the country was developing rapidly, nearly 20 academicians passed away due to illness!

For example, Academician Su Buqing, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a famous mathematician and educator in China, and the founder of the Chinese school of differential geometry.

When someone dies, a new academician will be elected.

The spirit of China, which has been passed down from generation to generation, is embodied in this.

After the election of new academicians of the two academies was completed, the 2003 National Science and Technology Awards Ceremony was held.

This year's highest science and technology award was presented to two academicians, Liu Dongsheng and Wang Yongzhi. Academician Liu Dongsheng, 87 years old this year, is an expert in the field of earth environment science research in China, a senior academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is known as the "Father of Loess". He graduated from the Department of Geology, Geography and Meteorology of Southwest Associated University and was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980. He has been engaged in earth science research throughout his life, settled the dispute over the origin of loess for more than 170 years, established the most complete terrestrial paleoclimate record in the past 250 million years, and has been engaged in earth science research for nearly 60 years. In the scientific research fields of paleontology, Quaternary geology, environmental science and environmental geology, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and polar expeditions in China, especially in loess research, he has achieved a large number of research results, founded loessology, and led China's Quaternary research and paleoglobal change research fields to become world leaders.

Academician Wang Yongzhi is one of the pioneers of China's manned space program and an academic and technical leader. He served as the chief designer of China's manned space program for more than ten years and as the dean of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Southwest Associated University.

The two won the highest science and technology award, which is absolutely well deserved!

This is also a recognition and high evaluation by the country for their lifelong hard work and outstanding contributions.

Academician Liu is 87 years old this year and his health is not very good, while Academician Wang is 72 years old and not young either!
However, since the reform and opening up, China's economy has developed rapidly and investment in education has continued to increase. Over the past two decades, many talents have emerged and there is no need to worry about lack of successors.

Just like manned space flight, it is carried out once a year, and later manned space missions will be carried out twice a year.

The 28th day of the twelfth lunar month is an auspicious day for marriage, accepting betrothal gifts, engagement, consecration of ceremonies, and burning of incense.

Liu Hongying and Qian Huaqiang's second son Qian Zhenhua held their wedding.

When she saw Liu Tao and Zhu Lin attending the wedding with their children, Liu Hongying's face was full of smiles. Liu Hongying, who is already 53 years old, does not look old yet, with no white hair on her head and no obvious wrinkles on her face.

It's just that she and Qian Huaqiang have been at odds for a long time. If it weren't for the children, Liu Hongying would have divorced Qian Huaqiang long ago.

Liu Zhenbang and Chen Fang, wearing new clothes, also attended their grandchildren's wedding. They watched these children grow up.

Liu Zhenbang is 74 years old this year, and Chen Fang is 71 years old this year. They have physical examinations twice a year, once in the first half of the year and once in the second half of the year. Time does not age them. After they turned 70, they have grown a lot of white hair, but they are still strong, but they no longer travel most of the time like before. Now they spend part of their time in Beijing, and part of their time in the south or in the Maldives for recuperation.

They both have pensions, and with red envelopes from their children and grandchildren from time to time, it's more than enough for them to spend.

Chen Fang holds Liu Rui's little hand. Liu Rui is the son of Liu Jingming and Feng Nan. Now he is 9 months old and can stand and crawl.

As the eldest great-grandson, Liu Rui has been the apple of everyone's eye since birth.

Even Liu Tao himself did not expect that he would become a grandfather at the age of 48. It’s incredible to think about it.

The entire hotel banquet hall was contracted out. The guests included Liu Hongying's relatives, friends, and classmates, Qian Huaqiang's relatives, friends, and classmates, Qian Zhenhua's friends, and the woman's relatives and friends.

Qian Zhenhua's wife Anna comes from an extraordinary family, born into an elite family in Boston. Her father Conley is currently a U.S. senator, representing Massachusetts, where Boston is located. There are only two senators in each state in the United States, and the term of office of senators is longer, a full six years, which is much longer than the two-year term of office of representatives.

As for Conley, he is naturally a Democrat.

The United States implements a system of separation of powers, namely, the separation of administrative power, judicial power, and legislative power. The president controls the executive power, the chief justice has judicial power, and the legislative power is controlled by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are directly elected by voters in each state. Each state has two senators, a total of 100 senators, with a term of 6 years, and 1/3 of them are elected every two years. The House of Representatives is elected according to the population ratio of each state. A total of 435 members are elected for a term of two years.

Any government budget or policy bill must first be submitted to the House and Senate committees for review before it can be implemented.

The power of senators is enormous.

It is no exaggeration to say that Conley is a member of the American ruling class.

Before the wedding, Liu Tao and Kang Li had a pleasant chat.

Conley is an American elite because he can become a senator. His family holds a pivotal position in Boston and has considerable influence within the Democratic Party.

Conley is a billionaire himself.

When both parties are chatting, it is inevitable that they will be tentative to see if there is room for cooperation.

Over the past 20 years since the normalization of relations between the two countries, a large number of people have benefited from it. The power of these vested interests has grown stronger year by year, and they have become one of the important bridges, bonds and ballast stones for exchanges between the two sides.

Of course, there are also people whose interests have been harmed and who always want to sever ties between the two countries and return the United States to the state before 1979.

It's just that they are too naive, the world has already changed dramatically.

In the past twenty years, the whole world has undergone tremendous changes.

It's no longer so easy to do things the way we used to.

The two sides are communicating under the same international order and international rules, not completely different ones, each with its own set of rules.

Liu Tao has no prejudice against the Republicans and the Democrats. Even if the two sides have different opinions, it is only because of their respective national interests and their own interests.

The hustle and bustle in the world is all for benefit, and the bustling world is for benefit!
This is true throughout history, both in China and abroad!

There is competition within cooperation and cooperation within competition. This is the norm in international relations in this world.

Unless they are mortal enemies, they will really tear their faces apart and stop communicating and cooperating!

Look at the bipolar competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was not all competition between the two sides. There was also cooperation. Look at the two countries working together to dismantle the British and French colonial systems. That cooperation was quite tacit and done very well. (End of this chapter)