Xi said the US and China should enhance cooperation in terms of economy, energy, law enforcement, education, science and technology, cyberspace, and environmental protection. In a speech on Tuesday, May 10, President Joe Biden stated that he would consider removing tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to reduce the price of goods in the US. The statement comes a week after the US Trade Representative initiated a statutory procedure to review US tariffs on Chinese goods in the lead-up to the four-year anniversary of the tariffs being implemented. In a routine press briefing on Wednesday 11 May, Foreign Minister Zhao Lijian urged the US to remove the tariffs, stating that “I think it’s time for the US administration to reconsider and to cancel it as early as possible”.
- The US Treasury Department has placed eight Chinese technology firms, including top drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd., on the investment blacklist for their alleged support of the “biometric surveillance and tracking of ethnic and religious minorities in China, particularly the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang”.
- In remarks made prior to their meeting, Xi acknowledged the 45th anniversary of US-China diplomatic relations and called for “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and willing cooperation to be the three overarching principles”.
- The US has placed a dozen more Chinese entities on the Commerce Department’s blacklist, known as the Entity List, citing national security and foreign policy concerns.
- Hours later, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jaikun contradicted Trump’s account, dismissing it as “fake news.” The two sides have not discussed tariffs, Guo said.
- This is the latest in a long string of meetings between Chinese and US officials in recent months and marks the latest efforts between the two countries to re-establish regular communication since the meeting between Biden and Xi in November 2022.
- Due to the limited scope of companies affected – the parent company of Raytheon Missiles & Defense was reportedly not added to the list because it is an import aviation supplier to Chinese airlines – these sanctions have largely been viewed as symbolic rather than a significant escalation of sanctions.
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Notable developments include the United States gradual withdrawal from the region, rapprochement between Israel and some GCC states through the Abraham Accords and the rise of Chinese and Russian regional engagement. Military interventions, political and economic instabilities, and civil unrest in the Middle East have led to a global refugee crisis with an increasing wave of refugees and asylum seekers to Europe and Canada. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has, in myriad ways, exacerbated and contributed to the ongoing security threats and destabilization of the region.
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- In another swipe at China, the US and Japan announced to invest together in areas such as 5G, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genomics, and semiconductor supply chains.
- China’s Vice Premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen talked via video call and discussed the economic situation and US-China relations.
- Vice ministerial-level officials of the two groups will reportedly meet “on a regular cadence” and report to Secretary Yellen and Vice Premier He.
The USCC’s recommendation underscores the increasing complexity of US-China relations, characterized by both economic interdependence and strategic rivalry. As the two nations navigate contentious issues such as trade, technology, and security, the trajectory of their relationship remains uncertain. The Biden administration has begun re-engaging Iran on the nuclear dossier, an initiative staunchly opposed by Israel, while also taking a harder line on Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen. Meanwhile, key regional actors, including Qatar, Iraq, and Oman, have engaged in backchannel efforts to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia to the negotiating table. From a broader geopolitical perspective, with the need to secure its energy imports, China is also expected to increase its footprint in the region and influence the mentioned challenges. Relations between the world’s two largest economic powers, the United States and China, are at lows not seen since the aftermath of 1989’s Tiananmen Square massacre.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense (MOD) has released details of a meeting between Henry Kissinger and the Chinese Minister of Defense, Li Shangfu, on Tuesday, July 18. The visit, which had not been previously revealed to the public, takes place as the US Climate Envoy John Kerry is also in Beijing for climate talks and comes after a series of high-profile visits by incumbent US officials to China. Meanwhile, Kissinger stated that “the US-China relationship is of vital importance to the peace and prosperity of both countries and the world” and that he is “willing to continue to make efforts to enhance mutual understanding between the people of the US and China”. On August 28, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with her Chinese counterpart, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, to discuss China-US economic and trade relations, including trade issues of common concern. This is the latest in a long string of meetings between Chinese and US officials in recent months and marks the latest efforts between the two countries to re-establish regular communication since the meeting between Biden and Xi in November 2022.
China’s human rights abuses, especially in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, border aggressiveness, and “wolf warrior” diplomacy, combined with the Trump administration’s legacy and the ongoing pandemic, have left bilateral relations at a nadir. Bijian Zheng wrote an article on the road of China’s peaceful rise in the US publication “Foreign Affairs” in 2005. He noted at the time that while China’s power has expanded greatly, it still has some limits, including “China’s economy is just one-seventh that of the United States and one-third that of Japan.” After a little more than a decade, China’s GDP (at the international exchange rate) is now around 70% of that of the US and three times that of Japan. There has been no announcement of further trade talks between the US and China, though US trade representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese trade envoy Li Chenggang met on the sidelines of a gathering of APEC trade ministers in South Korea last week, Reuters reported. On Friday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Vice Minister Ma Zhaoxu spoke with US State Department Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Richard Verma on China-US relations. The clock is already ticking on trade negotiations, as the truce agreed by American and Chinese officials earlier this month lasts only 90 days.
The three-hour meeting held in the run-up to the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia was described by both sides as “in-depth, candid and constructive”, according to the official meeting readout on China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) website. The Customs Tariff Commission of China’s State Council has announced that it will extend a tariff exemption on a list of 95 US goods. The tariff exemption, which was set to expire on November 30, 2022, has been extended to May 31, 2023. China has placed tariffs on over US$100 billion worth of US goods in retaliation to the USTR’s Section 301, which placed tariffs on over US$360 billion worth of Chinese goods during the Trump Administration in 2018 and 2019. The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has announced it will extend the tariff exemption on a batch of goods that were due to expire on February 16. The tariffs on 124 goods, which were imposed as a countermeasure to the US Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, will continue to be suspended until September 15, 2023.
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The concept of “competitive coexistence” implies that the Biden team has abandoned the Trump administration’s objective of drastically altering China etf trading strategies through tremendous pressure. During the running-in period, China and the United States may gradually discover a new equilibrium of how to get along on the premise of long-term coexistence. The history and theories of international politics demonstrate that fast shifts in the power of great countries frequently result in a degree of tension, which is an essential structural aspect in Sino-US ties.
This is only the second time the two leaders have met during Biden’s term as president, although the two have previously met several times in other official capacities. A readout from the Chinese Ministry of Defense (MOD) stated China’s willingness to develop bilateral military relations and cooperate on important defense issues. Senior US and Chinese officials met in Beijing for the third Financial Working Group (FWG) meeting from January 18 to 19, the first of these meetings to be held in China. The meetings were co-chaired by officials from the US Treasury Department (the “Treasury”) and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, and attended by officials from the US Federal Reserve, the Chinese Ministry of Finance (MOF), and other government agencies. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have met in Bangkok, Thailand for bilateral talks. The meeting sets the stage for a planned phone call between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden “at some point in the coming months”, per a background press briefing from the White House.
However, recent developments reveal that, while the US openly says that it will not modify the Chinese system, it will not abandon its ongoing sanctions on critical areas, and China will undoubtedly retaliate against the US. The Biden administration has been in power for about a year, yet Sino-US ties have not improved appreciably. Despite the fact that the two nations’ ties have lately showed indications of stability, long-term contradictions in bilateral relations have not been significantly resolved. However, in order to face China and the United States’ realities calmly, both parties must actively consider how to strengthen bilateral relations. In conclusion, we must not only decrease our expectations for China and the United States’ future, but also consider the areas in which they may actively engage.
Disclosure statement
A statement posted Tuesday on the website of China’s mission to the European Union said that Beijing did not pose a “systemic challenge” to any country and added NATO should not exaggerate China’s military power. The final communiqué, signed off by leaders of the 30-member alliance, asserts that China’s “stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order”. The newly passed NATO 2030 strategy demands that the alliance member states spend more resources on dealing with China’s growing global influence. During the two-day trip, Sherman will “discuss areas where financial intelligence, revised edition we have serious concerns about PRC actions, as well as areas where our interests align,” according to a statement of the US State Department. The items which are exempt from retaliatory Chinese tariff were listed in Tariff Commission Announcement 2021 No.2 and Tariff Commission Announcement 2020 No.8.
This mutual demonization inflames both respective nationalisms, complicating any U.S. and Chinese policy efforts to create a framework for managing competitive coexistence. The US Commerce Department added seven Chinese supercomputing entities to its Entity List, citing activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the US. The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US added 34 entities to the Entity List, including 23 Chinese companies and entities – 14 over their role in alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, five for their ties to China’s military, and another four for doing businesses with other firms that were sanctioned by the US. Beijing described the meeting as “candid, constructive, substantial, and effective”, which has enhanced mutual understanding. According to the report by China’s state media Xinhua Agency, Xi has warned Washington about building closer links with self-ruled Taiwan and called for cooperation with the US on economic development and avoiding decoupling.
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The summary of China’s policy is also an assessment of the first year of the new administration at the White House. It was clear city index review from the beginning that the key issue for the new president would be relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In the perspective of bilateral relations between the United States and China, there was supposed to be a “new opening”. For example, despite the effects of the epidemic and the trade war, Sino-US economic and commercial relations have not deteriorated, and both sides remain optimistic about educational exchanges.
This would prohibit the use of federal funding to purchase or maintain any of the listed DJI equipment or services. According to the Treasury readout, the meeting also included a roundtable that brought together private firms from both countries to exchange views on climate financing, including transition planning and carbon markets. Answering a media question on the Biosecure Act, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that the bill was “discriminatory” and called on the US to “respect the principles of market economy and trade rules” and “stop suppressing Chinese companies under various pretexts”.
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While the rule applies worldwide and does not explicitly mention China, exports or reexports of these items to China (and other countries) will require a license, with the license application to be reviewed “with a presumption of denial”. Meanwhile, exports and reexports to countries that impose export controls on conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies (specifically, the Wassenaar Arrangement Participating States) will have their licenses reviewed with “a presumption of approval”. On September 14, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the USTR’s announcement of increased tariffs on certain Chinese goods. The spokesperson noted that the majority of public comments on the tariff review opposed the increases or called for expanded exemptions, indicating that the tariffs are unpopular. The spokesperson urged the U.S. to correct its actions and cancel all additional tariffs on Chinese goods, stating that China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the interests of Chinese enterprises.