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This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of hypertension in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using the results of a regional study. The studies were reviewed using PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medicine, Wan Fang Data and Chinese Science Citation Database. After screening articles and data extraction, Stata V.16 was used for statistical analysis. This study was registered in the Prospective Register Systematic Reviews (CRD42020170649). A total of 2126 articles were identified, and nine papers were finally included. Random-effects modelling showed that the pooled prevalence of hypertension among Chinese patients with T2DM was 54% (95% CI 47 to 61%). Subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence in men (59.8%; 95% CI 49.0 to 70.7%) was higher than that in women (40.2%; 95% CI 29.3 to 59.2%). The prevalence in North China was higher than that in East China. The prevalence in institution-based settings (56%; 95% CI 48 to 64%) was higher than that in community-based settings (51%; 95% CI 34 to 69%). Appropriate preventive measures should be undertaken, such as health education, to control and reduce the risk of hypertension in diabetic patients and reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Are there temporal trends of sperm concentration (SC) and total sperm count (TSC) in Chinese healthy males from 1981 to 2019?Summary Answer: Our result indicated a temporal decrease in SC and TSC among 327 373 healthy Chinese men in the recent four decades.What Is Known Already: A review of 61 papers reported a temporal decline in SC and TSC from 1938 to 1990. This trend was later confirmed by a systematic review of 185 published papers from 1981 to 2013. However, the majority of the included individuals were from western countries. In China, whether SC and TSC have declined remains controversial.Study Design, Size, Duration: This systematic review of published articles used data extracted from Pubmed, Science Direct, Embase, China-National-Knowledge-Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang Data to assess changes in SC and TSC in China from 1981 to 2019.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: A total of 111 studies including 327 373 individuals who provided semen samples from 1981 to 2019 were extracted for the present analysis. Study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent researchers. The trends in SC and TSC were analysed using liner-regression and meta-regression before and after adjusting for potential covariates. Moreover, subgroups, categorised based on geographic region, fertility status or recruitment source, were also analysed.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: SC declined significantly (slope liner-regression = -0.748 million/ml/year; P = 0.005; slope meta-regression = -0.824 million/ml/year; P < 0.001) between 1981 and 2019 in China. Trends for TSC was similar to that for SC (slope liner-regression = -2.073 million/year; P = 0.032; slope meta-regression = -2.188 million/year; P = 0.003). In subgroup meta-regression analyses, males with definite fertility had continuous declines in SC (slope northern group=-2.268, P = 0.009; slope southern group=-1.014, P = 0.009) and TSC (slope northern group=-9.675, P = 0.010; slope southern group=-3.215, P = 0.042). However, in the unselected group, where fertility status was unknown, the obvious downward trend in SC was only seen in males from Northern regions (slope = -0.836, P = 0.003). Another subgroup analysis demonstrated that obvious decreases in SC (slope = -1.432, P < 0.001) and TSC (slope=-4.315, P = 0.001) were only seen in volunteer groups but not in pre-pregnancy examination groups and other recruitment groups. The results changed minimally in multiple sensitivity analyses.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: The validity of the meta-analysis results was limited mainly by the quality of the included studies. Additionally, our study spanned many decades and the recommended criteria for some semen parameter assessments have significantly changed, which may bring about some unavoidable bias. Moreover, the data remain insufficient especially in some provinces of China.Wider Implications Of the Findings: The present study is the first study to report significant decreases in SC and TSC in 327 373 healthy Chinese men between 1981 and 2019, indicating a serious reproductive health warning. Further studies on the causes of the declines are urgently needed.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): D.Z. is supported by the National Natural Science Funding of China, Natural Science Funding of Shaanxi Province, Science Funding of Health Department, Shaanxi Province, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University and the Project of Independent Innovative Experiment for Postgraduates in Medicine in Xi'an Jiaotong University. The authors have no conflicts of interests to declare.Trial Registration Number: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining eight years of panel data with an event study approach, this study shows that rural Chinese women's labor supply falls following the birth of a child. In contrast, men's labor supply does not fall after birth. Furthermore, a woman's labor supply falls more following the birth of a son than a daughter. Following the birth of a son relative to a daughter, household cigarette consumption declines, and a mother's leisure time, her probability of school enrollment, and her participation in decision-making increase. There are no increases in other investments in boys complementary to mothers' time, such as food expenditures, breastfeeding, or immunizations. These results are consistent with the idea that mothers are rewarded more for having a son, leading them to have more leisure and work less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the rise of a group of affluent urban Christians in the post-Mao market transition to shed light on China's church-state relations in the reform era. Based on ethnographic data collected in Wenzhou, the most Christianized Chinese city and a pioneer in developing China's current market economy, this study portrays how local believers, many of whom are private entrepreneurs, engage postsocialist state power. It shows that these Christian entrepreneurs actively seek the state's recognition and renegotiate the boundaries of religion and politics in the context of development. They have adopted their modern capitalist cultural logic in the production, management and consumption of religious activities. Adding to the post-Weberian literature on religion and capitalism, this paper argues that regional capitalist development enabled by post-Mao reforms has largely depoliticized and promoted local practices of faith. Challenging the unidirectional view of China's church-state relations that focuses on state dominance and church resistance, this paper also contributes to a reconceptualization of Chinese Christian studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper probes China's official political concept of "Major Country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics" to argue that the boundaries of legitimate state action have been dramatically expanded since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. Building on Patrick Jackson's transactional social constructivism, I place the causal mechanism in China's new assertiveness in seminal changes to how Chinese elites legitimize their country's role in global politics. Drawing upon elite speeches, Party documents, and Chinese-language scholarship between 2013 and 2019, I show how new legitimation strategies are used to justify China's effort to proactively reform international order, engage in ideological competition with the West, and assume greater responsibility for global affairs in accordance with its elevated power and status. The boundaries of action sanctioned by this new discourse are likely to persist in the short to medium term, with implications for regional order in Asia and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Survey covers materials reflecting Chinese practice in 2019 relating to: treaties, agreements and other documents signed or ratified by the People's Republic of China; national legislation; statements made by Chinese representatives at the meetings of the UN and other international organizations, international conferences, and those made by the Foreign Ministry spokespersons, with respect to various branches of international law; and judicial decisions, in particular on the applicability and application of international conventions, by Chinese courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The link between migration and STD/HW risky sexual behavior has been well documented. Research of risky sexual behavior that addresses the issue of gender-migration interaction or employs a multilevel perspective is still limited in China. Using data from a probability survey and applying multilevel modeling, this paper examines gender differences in (1) the link between migration and risky sexual behavior and (2) individual and community correlates of risky sexual behavior. Results suggest significant interaction between gender and migration. Being a temporary migrant is associated with significantly more risky sexual behaviors for females but significantly fewer for males. There are also significant interactions between gender and marriage and living arrangement. Being married and living with others both appear to be more powerful deterrents to risky sexual behavior for females than for males. Single migrant women who live alone have the most risky sexual behaviors while married nonmigrant women who live with others have the least. Risky sexual behavior is further influenced by family and peers and conditioned by community contexts. Prevention programs are urgently needed for female temporary migrants and must address the issue of gender and pay attention to social influences of family and peers and community contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a time series of news coverage about air pollution in China for the period 1977–2019. Our measure of abnormal news coverage (ANC) of China's air pollution is uncorrelated with growth in economic activity or cyclical components of such activity, but strongly correlated with weather-related and atmospheric conditions known to cause air pollution. ANC is associated with more capital flight from China. Focusing on the USA as a destination country, we find that ANC is associated with more Chinese citizens emigrating to US regions with stronger ethnic links to China, and more international students enrolling in US institutions with stronger Chinese student links. US regions with stronger ethnic or educational ties to China experience higher property price growth when ANC is higher. Our study suggests that perception of local environmental risk can have major consequences for the cross-border reallocation of capital and labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY QUESTION Is there a relationship between pregnancy termination history and metabolic syndrome (MetS), and if so, is the relationship moderated by physical activity (PA)? SUMMARY ANSWER Induced abortion, and both miscarriage and induced abortion, increased the risk of MetS, while leisure PA attenuated the effects of induced abortion, and both miscarriage and induced abortion, on the risk of MetS. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Pregnancy termination history is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but studies on women's history of pregnancy termination and MetS are limited. PA is a preventive behavior for MetS, but its modification effect on any association between pregnancy termination history and MetS is unknown. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION The cross-sectional study included 53 702 women (age range of 30–79 years old) from southwestern China who participated in the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) study from May 2018 to September 2019. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Participants self-reported both the number and type of pregnancy termination. PA was assessed primarily by asking participants about the cumulative time they spent doing PA either as their occupation, transportation, housework, and leisure activity in the past year. MetS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE After adjusting for all confounders, the risk of MetS was significantly increased in women who experienced induced abortion alone, and both miscarriage and induced abortion, with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.08 (95% CI = 1.03–1.13) and 1.20 (95% CI = 1.08–1.33), respectively. A dose–response relationship was observed between the number of induced abortions and MetS, with the risk increasing by 3.0% for every additional induced abortion (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01–1.05). Leisure PA had a significant modification effect on the relationship between pregnancy termination history and MetS, as leisure PA attenuates the negative effects of induced abortion on MetS. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Causality cannot be established in this study. Information on pregnancy termination and PA was collected by self-report, which might be subject to recall bias. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS A history of induced abortion was associated with an increased risk of MetS, and the risk increased with the number of induced abortions. Leisure PA attenuated the negative effect of induced abortion on MetS, whereas occupational and transportation PA amplified the negative effect of induced abortion on glucose. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (grant no.: 2017YFC0907300) and the National Nature Science Foundation of China (grant no.: 82273745). The authors declare no conflicts of interest. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising level of automation has increasingly attracted scholars' attention. On the other hand, there are many studies of the consequences of social movements, but relatively fewer studies focus on their economic consequences, and even fewer studies have examined their consequences on automation. This article bridges the gap between the two literatures by hypothesizing that a rising number of labor protests will lead to a higher level of automation. We argue that political economy factors influence the adoption of more automation. Protests anticipate higher wages and labor costs; contest for social power with employers and the state, and, in extreme cases, pose a public relations challenge to employers, which will likely push employers to replace human workers with robots. We empirically test the relationship by using two protest event datasets in China, the China Labor Bulletin and Collective Action from Social Media and robot data from the International Federation of Robotics. Statistical analysis shows that provinces and industries that have more protests also tend to concentrate more robots, and the results are robust to most specifications and placebo tests. The findings have implications for both understanding the mechanism explaining rising automation and the consequences of social protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we make sense of China's perceptions of and relationship with the liberal international order (LIO)? The majority of notable works on this topic have been written by foreign scholars who emphasize China's discontent with, or challenges it poses to, the LIO, while Chinese scholars have either focused solely on academic debates or attempted to interpret official foreign policies. This article aims to provide a balanced analysis of China's view of order by examining theoretical thought and policy practices from a Chinese perspective, drawing insights from both Chinese academic writings and government statements. We argue that there exists a perceptual difference between China and the West in understanding the postwar international order, with China emphasizing the functional part of the order and the West regarding it as based on its preferred ideological values. This perceptual difference has caused international suspicion about China's potential intentions to overthrow the LIO. In practice, China's approach has remained pragmatic, interacting dynamically with different subcomponents of the LIO. Although China's recent interactions with the LIO appear more ambitious, internal and external constraints, insufficient capacity, and lack of universally appealing values are preventing the birth of a Chinese version of international order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2 This article refers to "China" as the regime in mainland China, named the People's Republic of China, and "Taiwan" as the regime on the island of Taiwan, named the Republic of China. 129 "LüMei huaqiao he huayi Meiguo renshi relie huanyin ZhongMei jianjiao xiwang Taiwan fangmian yi guojia wei zhong zaori huigui zuguo [U.S.-based overseas Chinese and Americans of Chinese descent enthusiastically welcome U.S.-China normalization, hoping that Taiwan respects the nation and returns to the motherland soon]", I People's Daily i , December 19, 1978, 5. The new leader of China reiterated the message to Taiwan "compatriots": Beijing would "take into account the present realities in Taiwan, respect the opinions of the people in Taiwan, and adopt reasonable policies" in seeking to unify the island.[131] With a violent takeover unlikely, the new status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and the new relationship between Chinese Americans and China, seemed acceptable for all sides. In the fall of 1980, sinologist Wei Peh T'i revisited her hometowns in China, Nanjing and Chongqing, for the first time since she left for New York in 1947, at age sixteen. [Extracted from the article]

Economic inequality in China has increased significantly over the past four decades, and I examined the cultural resources that Chinese people have deployed to frame this new inequality. Based on 75 interviews with Chinese people, I identified three framings of inequality: The meritocratic framing views inequality as the result of differences in effort, ability or contribution; the developmental framing emphasizes that because everyone is doing materially better than four decades ago, it does not matter that economic inequality has increased; and what I call the difference-order framing, which emphasizes that individuals are born into different families with different levels of resources; therefore, they cannot be equal, which is not unfair. As such, even though China was a much more economically equal society just a few decades ago, available cultural resources enable Chinese people to frame inequality in ways that justify, rather than problematize, the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's rise in the Pacific has brought the region into the limelight, but research into the views of Chinese scholars of Pacific Studies is limited. Building on a survey and interviews of 39 Chinese scholars, this article analyses China's motives, influence, and prospects in the Pacific. It finds out that Chinese scholars list China's diplomatic strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative, and economic interests as the three main causes of China's Pacific diplomacy. The majority of these scholars rate the performance of China's Pacific diplomacy as pass/average. Most Chinese scholars are cautiously optimistic about the Belt and Road Initiative in the Pacific, and they expect China to both compete and cooperate with traditional powers in the Pacific in the foreseeable future. Some of these scholars' views on issues like the China–Taiwan diplomatic competition and the impact of Chinese aid on local corruption contradict the official Chinese line strikingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, as an authoritarian regime that has tight control over social media, has always sought to manipulate public opinion. In addition to censorship, the state mobilizes undercover paid posters to manufacture a pro-regime opinion environment. In this study, we examine the effectiveness of this adaptation by conducting an online survey experiment. We explore whether pro-regime comments accompanying a news post can effectively affect viewers' private and expressed thoughts, as well as whether these are driven by normative or informational social influence. The results indicate that pro-regime comments cannot significantly influence individuals' attitudes in favor of the authorities. Moreover, uniform pro-regime comments can even produce counterproductive effects. However, pro-regime comments do have an impact on individuals' opinion expressions. Respondents who take dissenting viewpoints tend to avoid expressing themselves when facing a climate of pro-regime opinion. Additionally, the persuasive effects of high-quality pro-regime arguments were found to be better compared to low-quality arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the rising and televisual mediation of Xinjiang ethnic minority female celebrities within Han-centric China's heteropatriarchal, nationalistic cultural imaginaries in the post-2010 years. Specifically, my analysis focuses on one of the most popular Uyghur female TV celebrities in China, Dilraba Dilmurat. By identifying a popular cultural discourse of "transnational ethnic imaginary" surrounding her celebrity images, I explore the ways in which her geo-cultural-ethnic-gender identity has been capitalized on by the Chinese TV industry and subjectively performed by herself within official and popular fantasies about a global, harmonious China. Ultimately, I argue that her success as a TV star in the post-2010 years exposes the artificiality and contingency of the self-imagined dimorphism of the dominant Han Chinese and ethnic minorities within the party-state's interethnic, transnational, heteropatriarchal-structured fantasies about a global China and a homogenous Chineseness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does Zambia's exceptionally high level of Chinese loan commitments provide insights into China's financial statecraft? Some have argued that Chinese lending to Zambia reflects China's purposeful use of loans to build leverage and perhaps acquire strategic assets. This article uses new data on Chinese loans, lenders and contractors and process-tracing to argue instead that Zambia is an extreme case of coordination problems in Chinese lending. Among all African countries with Chinese loans, Zambia has had the largest number of distinct Chinese lenders since 2000 (18) and the second largest number of different Chinese contractors winning Chinese loan-financed projects (29). This multiplication of stakeholders has created fierce and unregulated competition for infrastructure contracts in Zambia. In Beijing, 'fragmented authoritarianism' has meant an absence of top-down coordination of firms' and lenders' activities and thus few restraints. At the same time, Zambia's political leaders disregarded their own restraints on over-borrowing. Distinctive Chinese ideas about debt sustainability likely created additional disincentives for close Chinese monitoring. Finally, Zambia's history of frequent debt cancellations from China and other lenders likely exacerbated moral hazard risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cornerstone of public policy debate opens the door for arbitral tribunals to deal with antitrust disputes. It has long been a controversial issue whether antitrust disputes related to commercial contracts could be arbitrable, given the lack of clarity under Chinese law. China's Supreme People's Court in Shell v Huili has seemingly provided important but paradoxical guidance on non-arbitrability. Arguably, the ruling may be incompatible with the doctrine of international comity in the current transnational dispute resolution mechanism. It is argued that the operation costs for all stakeholders would be considerably reduced if China could integrate into the established international track. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores augmented reality (AR) possibilities for the preservation of national cultural art, popularization of Chinese musical instruments among the youth, and meeting the tourist interest in the cultural heritage of China in a fascinating interactive form. Using the generated database containing information on traditional musical instruments of the Guizhou province, the authors have developed an AR application adapted for educational and tourist purposes. Its central aim was to acquaint people with traditional Chinese musical instruments in the context of familiarization with the national culture of China. Testing of the developed application was carried out by hundred students from Guizhou Minzu University (College of Tourism and Steward, the College of Media, the College of Music and Dance, and the College of Data Science and Information Engineering) as part of the National Culture and Art study course. As a result, the created AR app was proved to expand the understanding of the culture and traditions of the Chinese people, intensify the perception of national musical identity, increase interactivity-caused inspiration and involvement (89%), and enhance interest in new knowledge (93%). Based on the obtained research outcomes, a model for the popularization of traditional Chinese musical instruments in the structure of the integrated national tourism product of Guizhou province was developed. The article is believed to be useful for individuals studying the national cultural heritage of China and educators seeking innovative solutions that improve the educational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the secondary dentin formation, the dental pulp undergoes changes in shape throughout life. Based on this phenomenon, the Kvaal method has been applied to various populations for age estimation, and its usefulness has been verified. When applying the Kvaal method to Chinese subjects, we observed a relatively strong correlation between mandibular canines and age. This study notes the correlation between canines and chronological age and is the first to identify which canine is most closely related to chronological age. In addition, a new, simpler formula is determined based on canines according to Kvaal's methodology. The radiographs of 360 individuals from northern China were selected, from which the widths and lengths of the pulp from four canines were measured according to the Kvaal method. Next, inter- and intra-observer reliabilities were analyzed in order to assess the repeatability of these measurements. The correlation between measurements and age was examined, and Chinese-specific age estimation formulae were derived. The results revealed that the ratios from the left maxillary canine exhibited the strongest correlation with age compared to the other canines, whereas the left mandibular canine showed the weakest correlation, which may contribute to the overall poor correlation of mandibular canines with age. What's more, the formula derived from the left maxillary canine in this study displayed the highest coefficients of determination, and the formula derived from all canines showed the lowest residuals. Both of these formulae performed better than the Chinese-specific formula derived from six different types of teeth in our previous study, which had formerly possessed the highest coefficients of determination and the lowest residuals. Thus, we concluded that canines do play an important role in age estimation in the Chinese population, and the correlation between maxillary canines and chronological age is stronger than that of mandibular canines, although no distinct trend as to which side is better correlated with age was established. Going forward, we recommend the analysis of additional samples from different geographical regions and populations to further verify the importance of canines in age estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Law has become increasingly important in China's development. However, the nature and function of law in China's context can hardly be understood and explained by traditional legal concepts and theories. With a global rise of authoritarianism, the Symposium on 'Sources of Law, Authoritarian Legality and Chinese Jurisprudence' critically examines the sources of law, authoritarian legality, and Chinese jurisprudence from an interdisciplinary perspective. The discussion of the symposium covers the theoretical relationship between the Party and law and its practical implications, the dynamics of Chinese law and governance, theoretical challenges from, and reflections on, the development of intraparty regulations, and China's jurisprudence of international law, as well as the instantiation of legal instrumentalism in China's context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been few systematic studies of how the Chinese merger review agencies have analysed innovation-related issues, including the theories of harm, the frequency of challenges and the types of remedies. Since China's Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) took effect in August 2008, China's merger review agencies have imposed remedies in 48 transactions and blocked two transactions. The authors have found that innovation concerns were addressed in 17 transactions where there were remedies. The innovation concerns generally focused on two broad theories of harm: (i) the transaction would reduce the combined firm's incentive to innovate by eliminating an existing or potential competitor, or (ii) the transaction would create incentives for the combined firm to hinder innovation by rivals (eg via a refusal to license the relevant technology to rivals). The Chinese merger review agencies have raised innovation concerns in transactions that were unconditionally approved by the EU or US agencies, and have sometimes unconditionally approved transactions where the EU or US agencies identified innovation as a concern. In addition, the Chinese agencies have utilized both structural and behavioural remedies to resolve innovation concerns, whereas the EU and US agencies have preferred structural remedies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is little research to date in the area of quality of life (QoL) among older Chinese people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study aims to explore the QoL and its influential factors among older PLWHA in China. Methods Cross-sectional data of 242 adults with HIV/AIDS aged 50–84 y from Hunan were analyzed to evaluate the associations of demographic characteristics, illness-related factors, HIV-related stigma and social support with QoL. The WHO QOL-HIV BREF questionnaire was used to measure QoL on six domains (physical, psychological, independence, social relationships, environment and spirituality). Results A total of 242 older PLWHA completed the survey, of whom 150 (62.0%) were males. Multivariate linear regression analyses identified that females, side effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy, chronic non-communicable diseases and higher levels of perceived negative self-image were negatively associated with QoL, especially in the physical, independence and spirituality domains; whereas higher education or annual income, retired and elevated levels of subjective social support or support availability were positively associated with QoL, especially in the psychological, independence, social relationships and environment domains. Conclusions The study findings suggest that interventions to improve QoL should focus on reducing HIV-related stigma and side effects and on enhancing economic situations and social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to look into the cultural roots in the active construction of indigenous Chinese communication theories. Theoretically guided by the paradigmatic cultural assumptions between China and the West and the Chinese cultural discourse system and research, and via qualitative content analysis, this study has found: First, there are three general categories of indigenous Chinese communication theories: (a) tapping the essence of the traditional Chinese culture embedded in terms, concepts and events, (b) visualizing and modeling the Chinese cultural factors like wind, grass, and water, and (c) integrating the advantages of Chinese and Western cultures, with each category illustrated by three representative samples. Second, the three categories are the three adopted approaches to fulfilling the three goals of the Chinese cultural discourse system and three missions of the Chinese cultural discourse research. The findings can bring about complimentary and mutual benefits to the communication studies within China and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How has the process of institution and governance building in Africa, a domain traditionally subject to western development interventions, been changed by Chinese-led development? Taking Uganda's roads sector, and particularly its main implementing agency the Ugandan National Roads Authority as a case study, I argue that traditional donors' influence on sectorial institution building has not been replaced or dislodged by China's growing presence. This presence primarily took the form of Chinese construction companies operating as profit-driven contractors interested mainly in quick project turnaround rather than in systematically shaping sectorial governance in the host country. Moreover, not only did traditional donors' development financing remain dominant vis-à-vis China, but the ways in which their interventions were designed, exercised, and monitored in the post-conditionality regime characteristically differed from their Chinese counterparts, ensuring their embedded and enduring role in the reforming of sectorial state institutions. As such, a tacit division of labour took shape between Chinese and western engagements in Uganda's roads sector: China focused on 'hard' physical road construction whilst traditional donors on the 'soft' aspects of sectorial governance and policy. The availability of both forms of development engagements with their distinctive foci enables issue-specific agency for Uganda to develop its roads sector, and yet they together appear to create favourable conditions for the Ugandan leadership's increasing authoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While China strongly opposes the US practice of 'long-arm jurisdiction', it has decided to build its own legal system of extraterritoriality. This paradox reflects the crossroads at which China finds itself currently. Being a country weaker than the sole global superpower, it needs to stand firmly against the American 'legal bullyism' by invoking the shield of territorial sovereignty. Yet, as an emerging world power, it is in China's interest to establish a legal system of extraterritoriality to safeguard its own national interests that extend globally. This article has two aims. First, it provides a comprehensive overview of the current model of Chinese extraterritoriality. Second, it proposes four key planks that should support the emerging Chinese system of extraterritoriality such that it will be both distinct from the US system as well as being practically achievable in light of China's role in the global stage, national interests, and current capacity and conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To investigate the knowledge, attitudes and anxiety toward COVID-19 among Chinese college students studying in China and abroad. Method A structured questionnaire, comprised of demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitudes toward COVID-19 and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), was used to collect data for 566 domestic students and 126 students studying abroad. Results Domestic students were better than students abroad in knowledge of epidemiology and manifestations. Domestic students showed a significant higher enthusiasm for voluntary services than students abroad, including medical science popularization, community services, traffic dispersion, logistics transportation and being volunteers for vaccine trials. The scores (Mean ± SD) of S-AI and T-AI among students abroad were 59.48 ± 8.63 and 54.10 ± 7.20, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of domestic students (39.46 ± 8.16 and 39.25 ± 7.72). Conclusions Our study showed a better understanding of knowledge, more positive attitudes and less anxiety toward COVID-19 among domestic students, compared with students studying abroad. In light of this information, more attention and appropriate psychological and social intervention should be paid to college students with anxiety, especially those studying abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's global proliferation of psychological warfare, operating in small signatures and low visibility, reflects a cultural continuity of ancient strategic thought and martial philosophy. Contemporary analysis explains how China's attempts to coerce and persuade its target entities work through systematic deception and perception management to achieve its authoritarian objectives. However, there are gaps in the understanding of these operations as distinct from conventional statecraft, and in the configuration and mechanism of actions constituting bottom-up change toward subduing the enemy without fighting. To guide the analysis of China's psychological warfare in an organized manner, an explanatory framework of three cultural drivers—allusion (anshi), reasoning (douzhi) and luring (yinyou)—and six tactics—induction (youdao), coercion (xiepo), sentiment (qinggan), hoax (xirao), persuasion (ganhua) and disguise (qiaozhuang)—were devised. It is argued that the deeply rooted ideational and materially embodied dynamics continue to exploit western social vulnerabilities and the open nature of democratic institutions by introducing policy confusion, assimilation and division. However, failing to recognise these as normative social practices will result in misguided counter-measures aimed at transforming the communist system into a capitalist democracy, triggering domestic social unrest, or discrediting the CCP leadership in the eyes of the world and the Chinese people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A developing public commentary views China as exerting influence in international organizations to legitimize and disseminate PRC foreign policy values and interests. This article examines an understudied source identified by PRC elites to promote influence in the United Nations system: dispatching PRC nationals as international civil servants, specifically in a targeted pursuit of executive leadership positions. Using decades of UN staffing data, we find that apart from Russia, China holds the fewest executive leadership posts among the aspiring and permanent members of the UN Security Council. Moreover, China is yet to lead an agency addressing international security matters. US and European staff contributions are significantly higher at all staffing levels of the international civil service. Still, the data shows that China made modest, targeted gains in most specialized UN agencies, and agencies headed by PRC nationals show faster increases in PRC staff members, though all base numbers were low. We draw from Chinese-language sources to discuss issues facing China in increasing its international civil service numbers, affecting the country's ability to shape global governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yellow Peril ideology has long cast Chinese as cruel, deceitful, incompetent disease vectors. Many US elites now tie such notions to China's response to Covid-19. Their racialized framing of the drive to condemn and sue China however exemplifies a Chinese idiom—"big thunder, little rain" (雷声大, 雨点小)—which means noisy, yet ineffective. There are empirical obstacles to convincing the world of Chinese responsibility for the pandemic, such as that the virus spread much more from Europe and the US than from China, many Western states failed against the virus, and pandemic-related agitation against China has resulted in many anti-Asian actions. The ongoing claims are thus unlikely to be convincing beyond the Anglosphere, but still spread racism and advance a US-led anti-China mobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Accurate methods for early gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (during the first trimester of pregnancy) prediction in Chinese and other populations are lacking.Objectives: This work aimed to establish effective models to predict early GDM.Methods: Pregnancy data for 73 variables during the first trimester were extracted from the electronic medical record system. Based on a machine learning (ML)-driven feature selection method, 17 variables were selected for early GDM prediction. To facilitate clinical application, 7 variables were selected from the 17-variable panel. Advanced ML approaches were then employed using the 7-variable data set and the 73-variable data set to build models predicting early GDM for different situations, respectively.Results: A total of 16 819 and 14 992 cases were included in the training and testing sets, respectively. Using 73 variables, the deep neural network model achieved high discriminative power, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.80. The 7-variable logistic regression (LR) model also achieved effective discriminate power (AUC = 0.77). Low body mass index (BMI) (≤ 17) was related to an increased risk of GDM, compared to a BMI in the range of 17 to 18 (minimum risk interval) (11.8% vs 8.7%, P = .09). Total 3,3,5'-triiodothyronine (T3) and total thyroxin (T4) were superior to free T3 and free T4 in predicting GDM. Lipoprotein(a) was demonstrated a promising predictive value (AUC = 0.66).Conclusions: We employed ML models that achieved high accuracy in predicting GDM in early pregnancy. A clinically cost-effective 7-variable LR model was simultaneously developed. The relationship of GDM with thyroxine and BMI was investigated in the Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Quality of life (QoL) continues to be impaired in acromegaly after treatment.Objective: We conducted the first nationwide survey assessing QoL status among Chinese patients with treated acromegaly and explored correlations with clinical parameters, treatment modalities, and outcomes.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Survey via Chinese Association of Patients with Acromegaly (CAPA) online platform.Patients: Treated patients from CAPA.Main Outcome Measures: QoL was assessed using acromegaly QoL questionnaire (AcroQoL), 5-level EuroQoL five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L), and 12-item short-form health survey questionnaire (SF-12).Results: Complete, valid questionnaires from 327 patients (mean age: 39.2 years, 61.5% females) at a mean of 10 years after treatment were included. Biochemical control was satisfied in 52.9% of these patients. The controlled patients had significantly better QoL than the uncontrolled patients in all AcroQoL dimensions, most SF-12 dimensions, and pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression dimensions of the EQ-5D-5L. Patients with either controlled or uncontrolled acromegaly had significantly worse QoL than the age- and sex-adjusted population reference in most SF-12 dimensions except for physical functioning. More acromegaly-associated symptoms and comorbidities at follow-up were independent risk factors for decreased QoL across all questionnaires. Medical treatment, especially with somatostatin analogs (SSAs), and radiotherapy were predictors of worse QoL. Female patients had lower scores of physical-related QoL than male patients.Conclusions: Our study suggests that biochemical control improved but did not normalize QoL in acromegaly. Numbers of symptoms and comorbidities at follow-up, sex, radiotherapy, and medical treatment with SSAs were factors determining QoL of patients with treated acromegaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Antibody levels after hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination may be affected by suppression of the immune system due to cancer therapy. As such, childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) survivors are at risk of HBV infection due to immunosuppression secondary to chemotherapy. However, the hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb)‐seropositive rate of childhood ALL survivors after chemotherapy is unknown, and the need to revaccinate HBsAb‐seronegative ALL survivors is not appreciated in China. To assess the changes in HBsAb before and after chemotherapy, we retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 547 patients treated with the Chinese Children Leukaemia Group (CCLG)‐ALL 2008 protocol from 1 April 2008 to 30 August 2019. The results revealed that 416 patients (76·1%) were HBsAb‐seropositive at diagnosis, and at the time of the cessation of chemotherapy, 177 patients (32·4%) were HBsAb‐seropositive and 370 patients (67·6%) were HBsAb‐seronegative. Interestingly, 11 patients who were HBsAb‐seronegative at diagnosis converted to seropositive at the time of the cessation of chemotherapy. HBsAb titres were decreased after chemotherapy (P < 0·0001). Further, patients with higher HBsAb titres at diagnosis were more likely to maintain protective antibody titres at the completion of chemotherapy (P < 0·0001). The loss of antibody was more remarkable in younger patients (≤ 10 years) both at diagnosis (P = 0·009) and at the completion of chemotherapy (P = 0·006). In summary, this study showed that 67·6% of patients were HBsAb‐seronegative at the time of the cessation of chemotherapy, which indicates that ALL survivors are at high risk of HBV. As a result, HBV revaccination after chemotherapy should be highly valued in ALL survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's new Civil Code, adopted in May 2020, includes a Book on contract law that brought about major developments in this important area of law. A full translation of the Book is presented, with an introductory essay reviewing some of the most significant issues that have emerged in the decade-long drafting of the new law. Various unresolved controversies foreshadow further debates and reform of the law in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The turn towards an openly competitive relationship between the United States and China today carries acute consequences for U.S. policy toward North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea or ROK). The military and economic requirements of enacting such a policy of competition with China complicates U.S. policy with its ally South Korea, as it exacerbates three core dilemmas that the ROK contends with regarding China. These dilemmas compel choices for a U.S. ally that must increasingly become zero-sum in nature where Seoul must make choices that alienate its patron ally or its neighbor. This article draws out propositions for how changes in U.S.-China relations impacts strategy on both sides of the Korean peninsula. The primary finding is that changes in the independent variable (U.S.-China relations) have opposing impacts on South Korean and North Korean strategic thinking (dependent variable). What might be considered opportunities afforded by U.S.-China relations to South Korea are seen as threats by North Korea. Conversely opportunities created by U.S.-China relations for North Korea register as threats for South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence of the trend of the incidence of activities of daily living (ADL) disability among Chinese older people is limited. We aimed to investigate the time trends and potential risk factors for the incidence of ADL disability among Chinese older people (≥65 years).Methods: We established two consecutive and nonoverlapping cohorts (6,857 participants in the 2002 cohort and 5,589 participants in the 2008 cohort) from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. ADL disability was defined as the need for assistance with at least one essential activity (dressing, bathing, toileting, eating, indoor activities, and continence). Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify factors associated with the trend in the incidence of ADL disability from 2002 to 2014.Results: The incidence (per 1,000 person-years) of ADL disability decreased significantly from 64.2 in the 2002 cohort to 46.6 in the 2008 cohort (p < .001), and decreasing trends in the incidence of ADL disability were observed for all sex, age, and residence subgroups (all p < .001), even after adjusting for multiple potential confounding factors. Moreover, we found that adjustment for sociodemographic, lifestyle information, and cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke) explained less of the decline in ADL disability during the period from 2002 to 2014.Conclusion: The incidence of ADL disability among the older adults in China appears to have decreased during the study period, and this finding cannot be explained by existing sociodemographic and lifestyle information and cardiovascular risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant body of literature testifies to the effectiveness of role-play gaming and simulations as pedagogical methods in political science. Many of these studies involve students with a Western background. In contrast, little research exists on the teaching of political science in China and none on the effectiveness of simulations for teaching Chinese students. This study seeks to investigate the efficacy of role-play simulations as a method for teaching comparative politics to Chinese students. The study examined the levels of long-term knowledge retention, enthusiasm towards political science, and self-reported learning outcomes in two groups of students. A test group, students who had completed at least one political science course, participated in a politics-based role-playing simulation; the control group, students who had completed the same political science course, did not participate in a comparable game. The test group displayed significantly better self-reported learning outcomes and significantly better knowledge retention than the control group (albeit at the 90 percent level). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing 'Africans in China' literature has documented the extent and extensiveness of flows from Africa to Chinese cities. However, return migration has not received much attention, and even less is known about the role of the family in return consideration. The article focuses on how married Nigerians reckon return and family in Guangzhou city using data from ethnographic observations and interviews with 25 participants. While the family is central to how married migrants think about return, the dynamics vary among the participants. Migrants whose spouses/children reside in Nigeria complain about being distant from their families and the challenge of unification and 'absentee fatherhood'. Nigerian couples that live in Guangzhou as a family consider the high cost of raising children and the future competitiveness of their children as 'China-educated' as factors in return calculations. Moreover, despite living with their husbands in China, some Nigerian women desire to return to Nigeria to improve their lives, but they did not embark on a return journey to avoid family separation. Among Nigerians in an interracial relationship with Chinese women, the feeling of (un)belongingness resonates in their return consideration owing to poor experiences with access to residence permit and social welfare. While integration issues impact on return migration of married Nigerians in Guangzhou, the transnational practices of the men suggest that a return behaviour would probably accompany return consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions around the world have striven to recruit 'the world's best and brightest' faculty to enhance their scientific leadership and innovation, and American colleges and universities recognize their responsibilities to promote international intellectual exchange and encourage the free flow of ideas, knowledge, and people of all nations.While there is a growing body of literature on foreign-born academics, very little is known about foreign-born women in the US higher educational institutes, despite the fact that an increasing number of women exist in all academic disciplines, especially in STEM fields. By exploring Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant women faculty's stories, this study aims to partially address the gap in the literature concerning foreign-born women faculty's workplace experiences in US universities and colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incentivizing international publications is a current topic of national debate in China and some other non-English-speaking countries, echoing the discussion of managerialism in many other contexts. However, there is a shortage of research to conceptualize academics' responses with empirical evidence. The study draws on 65 in-depth interviews with humanities and social sciences academics at six Chinese universities. It proposes two typologies to categorize academics' affective responses (proactive, adaptive, resistant, hesitant, and detached) and behavioural responses (reconciling, rejecting, reforming, and rebelling). Building on the typologies, a framework is developed to explain the complicated relationship between incentives and publications. In addition, findings suggest that incentives imposed through administrative power could challenge academics' agency. The study thereby proposes a reconsideration and reconstruction of current incentive schemes, to move beyond managerialism and towards the integration of intrinsic academic values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discipline of International Relations (IR) is increasingly being criticized for ignoring and marginalizing states and societies outside of the core countries of the West. The idea of a 'Global IR' has been proposed since 2014 a pathway toward a bridging the 'West and the Rest' divide and thus develop a more inclusive discipline, recognizing its multiple and diverse foundations. At the same time, there is a trend toward developing theories, or 'schools', on a national or regional basis, the leading examples of which come from China. This article examines some theoretical constructs emerging in China, such as the 'Relational Theory' of Qin Yaqing, who is the foundational scholar in the 'Chinese School of IR', the Tianxia ('all under Heaven') concept as applied to IR and world order by Zhao Tingyang, and 'Moral Realism' of Yan Xuetong, who is the leading figure of the 'Tsinghua School'. To many scholars, both inside and outside China, the relationship among the various Chinese approaches and their overall contribution to the IR field remain unclear. Without claiming to capture all their nuances and complexity, this article hopes to stimulate a conversation among scholars, Chinese and foreign, with a view to generate greater clarity and highlight their importance to the study of IR. I argue that while making important contributions, the Chinese approaches to International Relations Theory (IRT) also face a number of challenges. This includes the need for them to offer more convincing proof that the concepts and explanations they propose can apply to other societies and to IR more generally. Moreover, there is the need for these approaches to attract a critical mass of followers worldwide, stimulate a research agenda for other, especially younger scholars, and distance themselves from the official Chinese policy framings. The Global IR approach offers a helpful framework for highlighting and perhaps addressing these challenges, especially in avoiding cultural exceptionalism and ensuring their wider relevance beyond China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an intersectional approach, this study examines Chinese immigrant mothers' negotiation between career and family and the role of social support. Based on eight individual interviews with Chinese immigrant mothers in Toronto, we found that their employment opportunities were highly limited by the intersection of immigration status and gender. A model is proposed to explain the effect of various factors on the mothers' career decisions. Three core factors—employment difficulties, child-care responsibility and financial need—had a major influence on the mothers' cost-and-benefit analyses when they made their career decisions. Furthermore, the adequacy and effectiveness of the mothers' social and community support were affected by their immigration status. Class differences and the association between career decisions and integration are also discussed. The findings suggest that immigrant mothers experience a unique situation because of the intersectionality of their multiple identities. Researchers and community organisations should recognise the distinct circumstances and needs of this group in order to achieve comprehensive understanding and provide appropriate services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Little is reported about the family’s role in preparation for future care (PFC) before the onset of care needs. The primary aim was to examine the relationships between PFC and different types of family support exchanged with generations both above and below. Method Path analysis was conducted on 516 Chinese baby boomers aged 45–65 to examine the associations between PFC (care expectation, awareness, information gathering, and decision making) and 4 types of family support (instrumental support, financial assistance, information and appraisal, and emotional support) when the covariates were controlled for. Results The current planning status and planning paths are consistent with those of the U.S. and European populations. Providing instrumental support to a parent was positively associated with awareness of care needs. Providing emotional support to a child was negatively associated with information gathering. In general, receiving support from a child facilitated PFC. Although those receiving emotional support from an adult child had less awareness of care needs, they displayed more information gathering. Discussion The role of family support in PFC is more subtle than simply increasing and decreasing resource volumes. Future research is needed to better understand this complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many observers see mutual distrust as a major reason for increasing tensions in East Asia, but few studies systematically explore exactly how trust, or the lack of it, influences international cooperation in the region. We examine the microfoundations of international trust in East Asia by analyzing an original survey of Chinese urban residents' attitudes toward Japan and South Korea. We find that generalized trust, or the belief that other nations have benign intentions, provides the most important driving force of trust toward Japan and South Korea. This, in turn, has a positive effect on preferences for interstate cooperation. We also find that, contrary to conventional wisdom, nationalism and historical memory have little or no effect on international trust. Our analysis enhances our broader understanding of international trust by clarifying its sources and consequences. It also suggests some important policy implications for Sino-Japanese relations and Chinese foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the tangible needs and external stressors experienced by Chinese American families with a member living with schizophrenia, in the context of a six-month pilot study of family psychoeducation. Therapists' notes from 117 family and group sessions were analyzed. The families expressed concerns regarding housing, finance, work, study, and the shortage of bilingual psychosocial services. Interacting with government offices and social services agencies caused anxiety and frustration, partly due to the high stakes involved given their low socioeconomic status, and partly due to the bureaucracy. As immigrants, study participants had needs for language translation, knowledge about resources, and advocacy by case managers. This study also highlights the importance of interventions beyond the micro individual level to the mezzo and macro levels, where changes in organizations and policies are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Older Chinese immigrants are one of the largest and fastest growing groups in Western societies. This article used the solidarity-conflict model to synthesize current research examining parent-child relationships in this group. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in the CINAHL, Medline, and PubMed databases to identify relevant articles. A narrative approach was used to review the literature. Results: Thirty-six articles were identified. Compared with Caucasians, older Chinese immigrants are more likely to live with children and have higher filial expectations. However, considerable numbers live independently. Of these, most live in public housing and rely on the community rather than their children for instrumental help. Many older Chinese immigrants have adjusted their filial expectations and valued being independent. They also provide extensive household help to their children. There are indications of intergenerational conflict, probably due to generational differences in attitudes toward life and limited intergenerational contact. Implications: This review suggests that although filial piety continues to influence older parent-child relationship in Chinese immigrant families, many changes have occurred. These findings have important implications for service planning and delivery for this cultural group. This review also provides evidence for the utility of the solidarity-conflict model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are largely preventable via behaviour change and healthy lifestyle, which may be best established during childhood. This study sought insights into Chinese new immigrant mothers' perceptions about adult-onset NCDs prevention during childhood. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were carried out with new immigrant mothers from mainland China who had at least one child aged 14 years or younger living in Hong Kong. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed and analysed using a Grounded Theory approach. The present study identified three major themes: perceived causes of adult NCDs, beliefs about NCDs prevention and everyday health information practices. Unhealthy lifestyle, contaminated food and environment pollution were perceived as the primary causes of adult NCDs. Less than half of the participants recognized that parents had responsibility for helping children establish healthy behaviours from an early age to prevent diseases in later life. Most participants expressed helplessness about chronic diseases prevention due to lack of knowledge of prevention, being perceived as beyond individual control. Many participants experienced barriers to seeking health information, the most common sources of health information being interpersonal conversation and television. Participants' everyday information practice was passive and generally lacked awareness regarding early prevention of adult-onset NCDs. Updated understanding of this issue has notable implications for future health promotion interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Greater adiposity is associated with higher blood pressure. Substantial uncertainty remains, however, about which measures of adiposity most strongly predict blood pressure and whether these associations differ materially between populations.Methods: We examined cross-sectional data on 500 000 adults recruited from 10 diverse localities across China during 2004-08. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the effects on systolic blood pressure (SBP) of general adiposity [e.g. body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, height-adjusted weight] vs central adiposity [e.g. waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-hip ratio (WHR)], before and after adjustment for each other. The main analyses excluded those reported taking any antihypertensive medication, and were adjusted for age, region and education.Results: The overall mean [standard deviation (SD)] BMI was 23.6 (3.3) kg/m(2) and mean WC was 80.0 (9.5) cm. The differences in SBP (men/women, mmHg) per 1SD higher general adiposity (height-adjusted weight: 6.6/5.6; BMI: 5.5/4.9; body fat percentage: 5.5/5.0) were greater than for central adiposity (WC: 5.0/4.3; HC: 4.8/4.1; WHR: 3.7/3.2), with a 10 kg/m(2) greater BMI being associated on average with 16 (men/women: 17/14) mmHg higher SBP. The associations of blood pressure with measures of general adiposity were not materially altered by adjusting for WC and HC, but those for central adiposity were significantly attenuated after adjusting for BMI (WC: 1.1/0.7; HC: 0.3/-0.2; WHR: 0.6/0.6).Conclusion: In adult Chinese, blood pressure is more strongly associated with general adiposity than with central adiposity, and the associations with BMI were about 50% stronger than those observed in Western populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]