China syndrome—
1. (dated) possibility of a catastrophe as a result of a nuclear reactor meltdown:
- If the heat in the molten fuel cannot be dissipated by conductivity, then the danger from the so-called China Syndrome would be much higher.
2. (Business) relocating manufacturing operations to China to reduce labor costs:
- It was pointed out that the new European Union countries were actually an alternative for the so-called China Syndrome.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase Vietnam syndrome—(U.S.) an attitude that diplomacy may be more effective in solving political problems than the use of military force (stemming from the American experience in Vietnam):
- Lee characterized the new war as an attempt to overcome the Vietnam syndrome to prove we can fight and win.
Chinese restaurant syndrome—a group of symptoms varying from sweating and dizziness to heart palpitation observed in some people eating Chinese food (associated with the food additive “monosodium glutamate” used in Chinese cooking ):
- Chinese restaurant syndrome is best diagnosed by the symptoms that a person describes.