Chronologies
US - China
Chronology from Sep 2016 to Dec 2016
: US charges three Chinese traders with hacking into the computer systems of prominent US law firms and stealing nonpublic information on mergers and acquisitions.
: Foreign Ministry says China has expressed “stern representations” with the US after President Obama signed into law the national Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017.
: China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning sets off for the Western Pacific for its first open-sea training exercise, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry.
: President Obama signs into law the national Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, which calls for senior military exchanges between the US and Taiwan.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson says THAAD “severely disrupts the regional strategic balance, damages strategic and security interests of countries in the region, including China, and thus runs counter to peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.” She further states China “will definitely take necessary measures to safeguard its security interests.”
: Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets outgoing US Ambassador to China Max Baucus in Beijing, and states that while “there are certainly some contradictions between China and the US … the common interests between both countries far outweigh the differences.”
: China’s PLA Navy vessel returns the seized UUV to the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin, in approximately the same location from where it was taken.
: Pentagon spokesman says through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, the two countries have secured an understanding that China will return the UUV to the US.
: China seizes an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) operated by the US oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch approximately 50 nm from Subic Bay, Philippines.
: Obama administration files a WTO challenge to Chinese restriction on grain imports (corn, rice and wheat) in the form of tariff-rate quotas, which allegedly blocked $3.5 billion in imports in 2015 alone. This is the 15th WTO action by the Obama administration against Beijing.
: China files a complaint at the World Trade Organization against the US and Europe after they reject giving China market economy status.
: On Fox News Sunday President-elect Trump says the US does not necessarily have to maintain its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of “one China” unless Beijing is willing to make deals on trade.
: China’s flies an H-6K bomber and other aircraft along the nine-dash line in the South China Sea, passing over a number of disputed land features.
: National Security Advisor Susan Rice meets State Councilor Guo Shengkun.
: Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduces a bill that would slap sanctions on China for its destabilizing actions in the East and South China Seas.
: Third US-China High-Level Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues, co-chaired by Chinese State Council Guo Shengkun, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is held in Washington DC.
: Chinese fleet, composed of the guided-missile frigates Yancheng and Daqing, and the supply ship Taihu, make a port visit in San Diego.
: China lodges “stern representations” with the US after Trump’s phone call with Tsai Ing-wen, urging that the US carefully handle the Taiwan issue.
: US House of Representatives passes National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017, which for the first time includes non-binding language calling for senior military exchanges with Taiwan.
: President-elect Trump receives a phone call from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen who called to congratulate him on his victory.
: Citing a national security risk, President Obama blocks a Chinese investor’s proposed takeover of Aixtron SE, a German maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
: Secretary of Commerce Pritzker says the US does not support granting China market economy status under World Trade Organization rules.
: The 14th plenary session of the US-China Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation (JLG) is held in Beijing.
: The 27th Session of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) is held in Washington, co-chaired by Vice Premier Wang Yang, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and US Trade Representative Michael Froman, with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack also in attendance.
: Vice Premier Wang Yang says at the closing ceremony of the US-China Tourism Year 2016 in Washington that the year-long series of cultural and people-to-people exchanges gave fresh impetus to bilateral relations.
: President Xi meets President Obama on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru to discuss smooth transition of US leadership and implications for US-China relations.
: Ambassador of China Cui Tiankai says at a film screening in Washington DC that China and the US must avoid being overly suspicious of each other’s strategic tensions.
: US-China joint humanitarian aid and disaster relief drill is held at a military base in Kunming. More than 100 Chinese soldiers and 89 US soldiers join the drill.
: President Xi calls President-elect Trump and tells him that cooperation is the only choice for relations between the two countries.
: President Xi Jinping sends a congratulatory message to Donald Trump on his election as president. Vice President Li Yuanchao sends a congratulatory message to Mike Pence on his election as vice president.
: US Commerce Department launches two new investigations into whether Chinese steelmakers are shipping metal to the US via Vietnam to evade US import tariffs.
: In a letter to US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, twelve US senators urge that a national security review panel reject Chinese aluminum giant Zhongwang International Group Ltd.’s proposed $2.3 billion purchase of US aluminum products maker Aleris Corp.
: Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice meet Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi in New York.
: Special Representative of the Chinese Government for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei meets newly-appointed US Special Representative for North Korea Policy of the Department of State Joseph Yun in Beijing.
: Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing, and says the two countries should create positive momentum to bilateral ties, especially ahead of the US presidential election.
: An interim Strategic Security Dialogue is held in Beijing chaired by US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui.
: Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of Joint Staff Department of China’s Central Military Commission, meets with US Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy David B. Shear, in Beijing on the margins of the interim Strategic Security Dialogue.
: Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang exchanges views with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew via telephone on issues related to the two countries’ economic relations.
: In a letter to US Trade Representative Michael Froman, eight US senators ask the Obama administration to take action against China over unfair subsidies to the Chinese aluminum industry.
: USS Decatur, a US Navy destroyer, sails near Paracel Island land features occupied by China, and is warned by two Chinese ships to leave the waters. The Chinese Defense Ministry calls the move “illegal” and “provocative.”
: Representatives from US Department of State and China National Space Administration discuss civil space cooperation at second Civil Space Dialogue in Washington.
: China wins a WTO complaint against the US Commerce Department’s methods of determining anti-dumping duties on Chinese products in a WTO dispute panel ruling.
: US Treasury issues its 16th currency report under the Obama administration, which keeps China on a watch list for currency manipulation based on its large goods trade surplus with the US, but says China’s overall performance improved since April.
: Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel says that Washington reserves the right to punish Chinese companies that violate US sanctions on North Korea if Chinese authorities don’t take action.
: Defense Secretary Carter says the US will sharpen its military edge in the face of Chinese territorial expansionism, which would ensure the US “remains the region’s strongest military and security partner of choice.”
: Two US Navy ships, the USS Bonhomme Richard and the USS Green Bay, make a port call in Hong Kong, the first such visit since China rejected a visit by a US aircraft carrier five months ago.
: The US Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee holds a hearing on “Are We Losing the Space Race to China.”
: US Department of the Treasury imposes sanctions on four individuals and Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co, for supporting North Korea’s WMD proliferation efforts.
: US House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific holds a hearing on “Diplomacy and Security in the South China Sea: After the Tribunal.”
: US House Subcommittee on Seapower and Force Projection holds a hearing on “Seapower and Projection Forces in the South China Sea.”
: Premier Li Keqiang meets President Obama on the margins of the UN General Assembly to discuss pragmatic cooperation on bilateral and international issues such as trade, the Korean Peninsula, and climate change.
: Obama administration launches a new trade enforcement action against China at the World Trade Organization over excessive government support for its agriculture sector.
: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says China bears “great responsibility” for North Korea’s fifth nuclear test and calls on Beijing to apply pressure to stop Pyongyang’s behavior.
: At a meeting in Vientiane, President Obama tells the leaders of ASEAN that the July 12 arbitration ruling was “binding” and “helped to clarify maritime rights in the region.”
: Speaking to reporters after returning from a two-week trip in Asia, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James says China is pursuing militarization in the South China Sea with the intent to “extend their reach” as a global power.
: US and China formally join the Paris climate agreement, handing UN chief Ban Ki-moon the documents of ratification.
: US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Hangzhou for six hours in advance of the G20 Summit.
: Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang meets US Secretary of Treasury Jacob Lew in Hangzhou ahead of the 11th G20 Summit.