The second highest U.S. diplomat will hold talks with the Chinese Foreign Minister on Sunday Increasingly tense situation Between Washington and Beijing.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met in Tianjin, China. Tit for tat sanctions.
Although the tensions are still serious, a senior official in the administration of US President Biden told reporters on Saturday, “Frank and open discussions, even if-perhaps especially-where we differ in opinion, are important for reducing our country’s The possibility of misunderstandings between the two is vital to maintaining global peace and security, and to make progress on important issues.”
The following is a timeline of major events in the history of U.S.-China relations since 1949.
1949: Separated at birth
Although they ostensibly united against the occupying forces during World War II, Chinese nationalist and communist factions resumed hostilities after Japan’s surrender in 1945. The US State Department issued the “China White Paper”, expressing its intention to stay out of China’s civil war, and neither should nor is it possible to affect the outcome.
Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalists eventually retreated to Taiwan and Hainan Island, leaving behind Communist Party leader Mao Zedong to announce the founding of the People’s Republic of China on the mainland in 1949. It wasn’t until his ideological associate in Moscow chose to recognize Chiang’s government of the Republic of China as the sole legal government of China.
1950: The Korean War
After the end of World War II, the Korean peninsula was divided along the 38-degree line by the North supported by the Soviet Union and the South supported by the United States. The Korean People’s Army invaded the South in June, prompting United Nations forces, headed by the United States, to defend. Later that year, China joined the fighting after the southern army near the border. Three years later, millions of people were killed, and the two sides agreed to an armistice agreement to establish a non-military buffer zone between the two North Koreas-along the 38-degree line from the beginning of the war.
1953-1958: Crisis in the Taiwan Strait
Although the United States stated in January 1950 that it would not intervene in the Taiwan Strait dispute, the Korean War that broke out in June of the same year, and possibly the occupation of Hainan by communist forces in March, prompted U.S. President Harry Truman to declare that the Taiwan Strait would remain “neutral” for the benefit of the United States. “. Truman sent the U.S. Navy there to prevent either side from attacking the other side, effectively activating the U.S. protection of the island.
The United States lifted this naval blockade in 1953, and the following year Chiang Kai-shek deployed his troops to the Golden Gate and the Matsu Islands-just off the coast of the mainland-where Communist forces shelled them. The United States and the nationalists signed the China-US Mutual Defense Treaty, and the US Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended the use of nuclear weapons against China. This fringe policy has led to the withdrawal of the negotiating table and nationalism from a few islands.
In 1958, the mainland resumed its bombing of the island, preventing the supply of nationalist troops from the garrison. The United States is worried that this is a harbinger of the invasion of Taiwan, helping the island to replenish it, and again discussing the use of nuclear weapons. The matter finally cooled into an arrangement, and the two sides bombarded each other the next day; the agreement lasted until the normalization of relations between the United States and China in 1979.
1964-China obtains the atomic bomb
Driven by the United States’ previous threats to use nuclear weapons, Mao Zedong pushed China to develop its own nuclear deterrent. In the early 1950s, China and the Soviet Union reached a secret agreement to exchange uranium ore for nuclear technology. However, the two later fell out when Nikita Krushev discussed arms control plans for peaceful coexistence with the West, and Beijing acted alone without the help of the Soviet Union.
In October 1964, China detonated its first nuclear device in the dry salt lake of Lop Nur in its remote Xinjiang region. Three years later, they successfully detonated the hydrogen bomb.
1969-Sino-Russian border crisis
When Beijing ordered the army to occupy Zhenbao Island on the eastern border of the two countries, the doctrinal differences between China and the Soviet Union erupted, and fighting broke out in Xinjiang on the northwestern border of China. The seven-month conflict laid the foundation for ping-pong diplomacy and the landmark visit of US President Richard Nixon in 1972.
1971-Kissinger’s secret flight
After a friendly encounter with the players at the World Table Tennis Championships in Japan, a delegation of American players was invited to visit China, which has been forbidden by Americans since the Korean War. The visit went well and paved the way for Pakistan to facilitate the secret visit of Henry Kissinger to China later that year, where he met with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.
1972-Nixon’s visit to China
At this time, the only thing China and the United States have in common is the pragmatic attitude of the leaders and the common enemy, the Soviet Union. During Nixon’s 7-day visit to China, he met with Mao Zedong and signed the Shanghai Communiqué with Zhou Enlai. This document formed the cornerstone of subsequent US-China diplomatic relations and provided a mechanism for both parties to resolve difficult issues, such as Taiwan. . Both countries have set up liaison offices in each other, which is a precursor to comprehensive diplomatic relations.
Visitors stand in front of exhibits showing Nixon’s visit to China in 1972. Beijing Exhibition Center, 2019 [Jason Lee/Reuters]1979-One China Policy and Taiwan Relations Act
Now led by President Jimmy Carter of the Democratic Party of the United States and Deng Xiaoping, the reformist, the two countries have issued a joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations to normalize their relations. The United States also supports the one-China policy and transfers diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The Chinese hawks and the former Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater took action to strengthen relations with Taipei. The US Congress passed the “Taiwan Relations Act”, which Carter signed into law after making concessions. As a diplomatic alternative, it maintains business, cultural, and other relationships through the American Institute in Taiwan, a non-profit organization registered in Washington, DC.
1982-Reagan’s six guarantees
Like his previous administration, US President Ronald Reagan managed to strengthen relations with both sides of the Taiwan Strait. He issued six guarantees to Taiwan, including a promise not to mediate between China, abide by the “Taiwan Relations Act,” and not intend to stop arms sales to Taipei. Later, Reagan’s enthusiasm for containing the expansionist Soviet Union-at the time in the process of its invasion of Afghanistan-led him to sign a third joint communiqué with China, reiterating the United States’ adherence to the one-China policy and increasing intelligence between the two countries. shared.
1989-Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Chinese army violently suppressed a peaceful student-led protest in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The suppression of protests made China an international pariah overnight. US President George HW Bush stopped arms sales to China and put aside relations.
1999-The Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was bombed
During the NATO air strike, an American plane crashed into the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade Serb forces occupying Kosovo, Killed three reporters. NATO and the United States apologized, but U.S.-China relations fell to a new low. Chinese protesters threw stones at the US Embassy in Beijing, where staff were trapped for three days.
2000-Normalization of trade relations
According to the US-China Relations Act, China was granted permanent trade relations with the United States. This status is the prelude to China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in the second year. As the world’s largest importer and exporter, US-China trade has been on an upward trend since the establishment of diplomatic relations.
2001-Hainan Island Incident
A U.S. signals intelligence aircraft collided with a Chinese interceptor because it conducted a “freedom of navigation” exercise in a disputed part of the South China Sea, where both China and Vietnam claim sovereignty. The Chinese pilot ejected but was never found; the American plane made an emergency landing in China’s Hainan Province. Ten days later, after a carefully worded statement, the 24 American crew members were released.
2008-China is the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds
At the end of 2008, during the global financial crisis, China replaced Japan as the largest foreign creditor of the United States, holding about US$600 billion in national debt. This title was then passed on between the two Asian countries; as of January 2021, China held more than US$1 trillion, accounting for about 4% of the US$28 trillion in national debt, second only to Japan.
2010 – China becomes the second largest economy in the world
In terms of GDP, China has surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy, second only to the United States. Goldman Sachs predicts that China is expected to top the list in 2027.
2011-The U.S. “turns” to Asia
The United States took action to counter China’s growing self-confidence in the region, first reaffirming its cooperation with Beijing, and then increasing its presence in Asia.
2013 – Sunnylands Summit
To revive Sino-US relations, U.S. President Barack Obama Receiving China’s newly appointed leader Xi Jinping The summit held in California is known as the most important summit of leaders since Nixon met Mao Zedong. Despite reaching an agreement on the North Korean issue and addressing climate change, the two sides failed to reach agreement on cyber espionage and US arms sales to Taiwan.
2015-U.S. calls on China to stop assembly in the South China Sea
The United States warns China to stop “further militarizing” a series of artificial islands and reefs South China SeaThe area is disputed because China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines all have territorial claims. Since approximately one-third of global maritime trade passes through the region, the United States has led Western efforts to maintain “freedom of navigation” exercises there.
2018-Trump imposed trade tariffs on China
In response to the alleged theft of US intellectual property, US President Donald Trump announced Impose trade tariffs on Chinese imports, Specifically for steel, aluminum, clothing and electronic products.China imposed Retaliation measures 128 categories of U.S. imports. Washington later raised tariffs to reset the trade imbalance between the world’s two largest economies.
2019-Hong Kong protests extradition law, Trump signs arms export ban
In February, Protests broke out in Hong Kong The security bureau in the region proposed a law allowing the defendant to be extradited to mainland China for trial. The turmoil continued throughout the year.
In November, Trump signed Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy ActThis requires the State Department to certify annually whether Hong Kong has sufficient autonomy to retain its special U.S. trade considerations. He also signed another bill prohibiting the sale of tear gas and rubber bullets to the Hong Kong police. In July of the following year, Trump signed an executive order to terminate the special status; China told the United States not to interfere in its “internal affairs.”
July 2020-The Chinese Consulate in Houston is closed; Pompeo criticizes Xi Jinping
In late July, the United States ordered Close the Chinese consulate In Houston, it was claimed to be the center of espionage and intellectual property theft operations.China takes retaliatory action Order closed The US Consulate General in Chengdu.
The next day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and asked: “After 50 years of contact with China, what must the American people show now?” He continued. Xi Jinping, a “true believer in the bankrupt totalitarian ideology,” listed Beijing’s trade issues and human rights violations, and ended his tirade with a sentence from Nixon: “Unless China changes, the world will not be safe. “
2021-Pompeo calls the Xinjiang repression “genocide”
On the last day of the Trump administration, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks China “Genocide and crimes against humanity are being committed in Xinjiang, China, targeting Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minorities.”
In response, China sanctioned 28 Trump-era officials, including the former secretary of state. Pompeo’s successor, Antony Blinken, later reiterated Pompeo’s statement. President Joe Biden First official call with Xi Jinping.
