Chronologies
US - China
Chronology from Jan 2009 to Mar 2009
: The Pentagon releases its annual report on Chinese military power.
: The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission holds a hearing on “China’s Industrial Policy and its Pillar Industries.”
: The House of Representatives votes unanimously to adopt a resolution recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act.
: Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and a visiting delegation of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), headed by Li Zhaoxing, chairman of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, agree to expand bilateral parliamentary exchanges.
: Zhou Xiaochuan, head of the People’s Bank of China, proposes the creation a new international reserve currency in an essay published on the central bank’s website.
: At the close of the National People’s Congress, Premier Wen Jiabo demands that the Obama administration “guarantee the safety” of its $1 trillion in U.S. bonds.
: Congress passes H. Res. 226 by a vote of 422-1 calling on China to cease its repression of the Tibetan people and to lift the harsh policies imposed on Tibetans who have been wrongfully detained and abused for expressing political views.
: The State Department issues a statement marking the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising that respects China’s territorial integrity, but expresses concerns about the human rights situation in Tibetan areas.
: Pentagon releases a statement that Chinese ships harassed a U.S. surveillance vessel in international waters, using measures described as illegal, unprofessional and dangerous. In turn, China accuses the U.S. of conducting illegal surveying in its Exclusive Economic Zone.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits the U.S. as a guest of Secretary Clinton.
: The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission holds a hearing on “China’s Military and Security Activities Abroad.”
: U.S. special representative for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Stephen Bosworth arrives in Beijing.
: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Sedney holds annual Defense Policy Coordination Talks in Beijing with Maj. Gen. Qian Lihua, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of Defense.
: Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu refutes the U.S. human rights report and urges the U.S. to stop interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries through such reports.
: State Department releases its annual human rights report, which harshly criticizes China for human rights abuses last year.
: China lodges protest to the U.S. in response to the introduction of a resolution by 17 members of Congress marking the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act.
: Secretary Clinton visits China, her last stop on a four-nation tour.
: The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission holds its first public hearing for the 2009 reporting cycle on “China’s Role in the Origins of and Response to the Global Recession.”
: Secretary Clinton delivers her first major policy speech as secretary of state on U.S. relations with Asia to the Asia Society in New York.
: The Chinese General Administration of Customs announces that China-U.S. bilateral trade expanded 10.5 percent last year to $ 333.74 billion, the smallest increase since China joined the World Trade Organization seven years ago.
: Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu expresses opposition to the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two Chinese companies that allegedly violate U.S. anti-proliferation laws. According to the U.S. Federal Register, the two Chinese companies, Dalian Sunny Industries and Bellamax, allegedly engaged in activities that breach the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Administration Act of 1979.
: President Hu has a telephone conversation with President Obama. The two leaders agree to meet in conjunction with the Group of 20 (G20) summit in London.
: At the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao blames the U.S.-led financial system for the world’s deepening economic slump.
: Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduce a resolution to Congress that calls on China to honor its international human rights commitments, commends the Chinese citizens who have signed the recently issued Charter 08 petition, and urges the new administration to maintain a strong human rights dialogue with China.
: Zhang Yesui, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, meets Susan Rice, the new U.S. ambassador to the UN, and exchanges views on Sino-U.S. relations and other world and regional issues of common concern.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hold a telephone conversation on bilateral relations and major international issues of common concern.
: In written comments submitted to the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearings, Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner says that President Obama believes that China is “manipulating” its currency.
: An official “full text” Chinese language translation of President Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration speech is published in major state-controlled Chinese news media omits two paragraphs including references to “communism” and “dissidents.”
: The World Trade Organization (WTO) establishes an expert panel to investigate the legitimacy of U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese exports.
: At a press conference in Beijing marking the release of China’s White Paper on National Defense, Defense Ministry spokesman Hu Changming urges the new U.S. administration to remove barriers to bilateral military relations.
: China and the U.S. sign a memorandum of understanding restricting the U.S. import of archeological items originating in China.
: The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham-China) announces three goals to strengthen Sino-U.S. economic ties to be met by 2039. John Watkins, chairman of AmCham-China, says the goals each set at $1 trillion a year are: U.S. exports to China, sales of U.S. companies in China, and investment of Chinese companies in the U.S.
: China joins the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), the most important regional development institution in Latin America and the Caribbean.
: The U.S. Commerce Department announces a U.S.-China trade agreement that will allow U.S. officials to conduct inspections of facilities of pre-approved Chinese companies, paving the way for those companies to receive U.S. exports of dual-use technology.
: A Chinese-born businessman William Tsu Cha-Wai is arrested in California on charges of illegally exporting sensitive technology for military radar systems to China.
: President Hu meets former President Jimmy Carter as the two nations mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties. The U.S. delegation to the Beijing celebrations includes key figures in forging relations such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisors Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, and former U.S. ambassadors.
: Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, meets with Secretary Negroponte and urges the U.S. to take actions to repair military ties seriously damaged by U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi meets Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte, who comes to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-U.S. diplomatic relations.
: To mark the 30th anniversary of US-China diplomatic relations, ping-pong diplomacy is commemorated by a “Friendship Ping Pong Rematch” in Beijing.
: Chinese President Hu Jintao speaks by telephone with President George W. Bush about bilateral relations and major international issues of common concern.