Chronologies
US - China
Chronology from Oct 2010 to Dec 2010
: PACOM Commander Adm. Robert Willard says that he believes the Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile program has achieved “initial operational capability.”
: The Obama administration accuses China of illegally subsidizing the production of wind power equipment and calls for discussions at the WTO, the first step in a trade case sought by US steelworkers.
: China, the US, and other members of the UN Security Council meet to discuss tensions and events on the Korean Peninsula but fail to agree on a joint statement condemning North Korea’s actions.
: Deputy Secretary of State Steinberg arrives in Beijing, leading a high-level US delegation for discussions on Korean Peninsula issues.
: Vice Premier Wang Qishan arrives in Washington leading a Chinese delegation to the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT).
: A World Trade Organization ruling upholds US duties on Chinese tires put in place last year.
: Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy meets Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Gen. Ma Xiaotian at the 11th round of US-China Defense Consultative Talks in Washington.
: US House of Representatives approves a resolution congratulating Liu Xiaobo for winning the Nobel Peace Prize and calls on China to release him.
: 30 US senators send a letter to Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan calling for the yuan to “appreciate meaningfully” before President Hu’s trip to Washington.
: President Obama phones President Hu to warn that China’s muted response to Korean Peninsula tensions is emboldening North Korean provocations, reiterating a June assertion that China was practicing “willful blindness” to DPRK transgressions.
: Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, meets Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg. Wang is visiting Washington to attend the Second China-US High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue.
: Chinese Envoy Wu Dawei calls for an emergency meeting in Beijing of delegates to the Six-Party Talks.
: State Councilor Dai Bingguo calls Secretary Clinton to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman declares that China opposes any military acts in its exclusive economic zone without permission.
: The US announces upcoming joint military drills with South Korea in the Yellow Sea that include an aircraft carrier battle group, stating that the exercises are not aimed at China, but are intended to deter North Korean aggression.
: Secretary Clinton talks over the phone with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
: State Department issues the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom in which China is listed among “countries of special concern.”
: In a phone conversation with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, President Obama says that China should take a more resolute stance on North Korea.
: Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that China is “absolutely critical” in dealing with North Korea, saying “It’s very important for China to lead.”
: State Department spokesman Phil Crowley says that China is pivotal to moving North Korea in a fundamentally different direction.
: Special Envoy of the Chinese Government for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei meets US Special Envoy on North Korea Stephen Bosworth in Beijing.
: On a visit to Washington, State Council Information Office Director Wang Chen meets Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation in public diplomacy and cultural exchanges.
: The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission 2010 report claims China Telecom, the state-owned telecommunications operator, “hijacked” 15 percent of the world’s internet traffic, including sensitive encrypted data from the US Senate, the Department of Defense and NASA, in April 2010.
: Energy Secretary Steven Chu visits China to attend a meeting related to the Sino-US clean energy research center and meets Vice Premier Li Keqiang and State Councilor Liu Yandong.
: President Obama meets President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
: Cui Tiankai, vice foreign minister, says the US proposal for setting caps on nations’ current account is a return “to the days of a planned economy.”
: Sen. Jim Webb, chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Foreign Relations Committee, issues a statement criticizing China’s “military aggression toward Japan, Vietnam, and other nations over territorial disputes in regional waters.”
: China turns down Secretary Clinton’s reported offer to mediate talks between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu calls Clinton’s proposal “wishful thinking.”
: China’s Marine Corps holds a major naval exercise in the South China Sea. The live-fire exercises, codenamed Jiaolong 2010, include more than 1,800 troops and over 100 ships, submarines, and aircraft.
: In Phnom Penh, Secretary Clinton calls on Cambodia to maintain a more independent foreign policy and not be overly dependent on any one country.
: Secretary Clinton meets Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the margins of the East Asia Summit and receives reassurances on the Chinese government’s policy on the export of rare earth minerals.
: On Hainan Island, Secretary Clinton meets Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.
: Secretary of State Clinton delivers a speech in Honolulu in which she says the US is not seeking to contain China and denies that US and Chinese interests are at odds.
: Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell reiterates that the USS George Washington will operate in the Yellow Sea again and that joint US-ROK naval exercises were “absolutely and categorically … not scaled back in order to placate Beijing.”
: During a tour of several US cities, Wang Yi, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, meets briefly with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other US officials.
: Speaking about the South China Sea at the Xiangshan security forum in Beijing, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Ma Xiaotian says, “We believe the situation in the region is stable and all the passing ships and planes have a sufficient amount of freedom and security.”
: US Envoy on Climate Change Todd Stern and Xie Zhenhua, his Chinese counterpart, meet in Beijing but fail to reach any binding agreements.
: Attorney General Eric Holder visits China to discuss cooperation on intellectual property rights violations, terrorism, transnational crime, and to promote the rule of law through the US-China Legal Experts Dialogue.
: The People’s Bank of China raises benchmark one-year lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.56 percent and the one-year deposit rate by the same margin to 2.5 percent respectively, the first time in almost three years that China has raised interest rates.
: Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th Communist Party of China Central Committee announces promotion of Xi Jinping to vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
: Charles Bolden, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), visits China seeking cooperative opportunities between the nations’ space programs.
: The US Trade Representative agrees to investigate a complaint by the United Steelworkers union against China.
: A Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) meeting is held at US Pacific Command in Hawaii.
: After meeting former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan calls for efforts from both sides to safeguard China-US relations.
: Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan converses by telephone with Gary Locke, co-chair of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) and US Commerce Secretary, and Ron Kirk, US trade representative.
: On the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus 8 (ADMM+) in Hanoi, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates meets Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and accepts an invitation to visit China in early 2011.
: Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of China’s Central Bank, meets Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the margins of the G20 meeting in Washington.
: President Barack Obama issues a statement welcoming the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the Nobel Peace prize to Liu Xiaobo.