On July 23, at precisely 12:41 P.M. Beijing time, with the planets aligned in favorable ways, China launched its ambitious Mars probe mission from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan Island, a blast-off fueled by the country’s biggest “Long March” rocket, the CZ5.
The unmanned spacecraft, dubbed Tianwen-1 — or “quest for heavenly truth” — is a multi-functional vessel that will make a six-month-long journey to Mars of more than 300 million miles. When it finally reaches the red planet, a coordinated system of heat shields, parachutes and rockets will deploy from an orbiter and enter the ultra-thin atmosphere of Mars. A white bell-shaped capsule will then help a lander, the size of a small car, touch down softly on its crusty, red surface. A ramp will unfurl, and a 530-pound rover will roll down to the rocky surface below. Outfitted with high-resolution cameras and sensors, the solar-powered rover will then explore the terrain of the planet that most resembl
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When Ken Wilcox, a former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, moved to Shanghai in 2011, he was optimistic and eager to start up the bank's new joint venture in China. A decade later, however, he is extremely cynical about U.S. business interests in China. While analysts will, rightly, be debating SVB's missteps in the U.S. for the foreseeable future, Wilcox insists the bank's challenges in China should not be overlooked.
The former secretary of state talks about how the Trump administration changed U.S.-China relations; why he accused Beijing of genocide in Xinjiang; and why U.S. politicians should visit Taiwan.
