Chronologies
US - China
Chronology from Sep 2022 to Dec 2022
: President Biden signs into law the $1.65 trillion Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act covering funding for the US government for fiscal year 2023 that includes provisions to authorize $2 billion in loans to Taiwan to buy weapons from the US.
: State Department approves a possible Foreign Military Sale to Taiwan of Volcano (vehicle-launched) anti-tank munition-laying systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $180 million.
: US Customs and Border Protection announces that merchandise produced or manufactured by Jingde Trading Ltd., Rixin Foods Ltd, and Zhejiang Sunrise Garment Group Co. Ltd. will be barred from importation into the US from Dec. 5 due to use of North Korean labor in supply chains in violation of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
: PRC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi delivers a keynote speech on China’s foreign relations at the Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations.
: Biden signs the National Defense Authorization Act, which will establish a specific defense modernization program for Taiwan and authorize up to $10 billion in foreign military financing grants over the next five years and $2 billion in loans, and restricts the use of Chinese semiconductors in items used by the military.
: In retaliation for sanctions imposed by the US on two Chinese officials on Dec. 9, China sanctions two Americans, Trump administration official Miles Yu and Todd Stein, deputy staff director with the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
: Speaking at a press availability to highlight four of the most consequential areas where diplomacy delivered in 2022, Blinken says the US has accelerated strategic convergence with the country’s allies and partners on the PRC.
: Secretary Blinken holds a phone call with PRC FM Wang Yi.
: US defense officials hold a hybrid in-person and virtual meeting with PRC defense officials to discuss the recently released DoD reports National Defense Strategy and “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.”
: WTO dispute panel finds that the US broke global trading rules by requiring that goods from Hong Kong be labelled “Made in China.”
: A PLA J-11 fighter flies within 20 feet of a USAF RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, forcing it to take evasive action. The incident occurred over the South China Sea. The US Department of Defense releases the video on Dec. 29.
: US Representative John Curtis (UT-03) leads a delegation to Taiwan.
: Department of State issues a statement supporting the Philippines in upholding the rules-based international order and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. It criticized PRC vessels for interfering with the livelihoods of Philippines’ fishing communities, disregarding other South China Sea claimants and states lawfully operating in the region, and conducting unsafe encounters with Philippines naval forces.
: Department of State launches the new Office of China Coordination, informally known as China House, which Secretary Blinken states is aimed at “ensuring we have the talent, tools, and resources to successfully execute US policy and strategy towards the PRC as the most complex and consequential geopolitical challenge we face.”
: US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board releases statement confirming they were able to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms in China and Hong Kong for the first time, allowing critical Chinese companies to avoid potential de-listing from US stock markets.
: US Department of Commerce adds 36 Chinese companies to its entity list, which requires anyone seeking to supply those companies with US technology to acquire a license from Washington. It removes 25 Chinese entities from the unverified list and applies the foreign direct product rule to 21 new entities.
: Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang meets Secretary of the Treasury Yellen in Washington, DC to discuss global macroeconomic and financial developments as part of efforts to maintain communication and work together on transnational challenges.
: The Congressional-Executive Commission on China hosts a hearing titled “CECC at 20: Two Decades of Human Rights Abuse and Defense in China.”
: China lodges compliant with the WTO against US-imposed export controls that aim to limit China’s ability to develop a domestic semiconductor industry and develop its military.
: Asst. Sec. of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kritenbrink and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Rosenberger meet Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng in Langfang, China, followed by stops in the Republic of Korea and Japan.
: China’s Ambassador to the US Qin Gang gives the keynote speech at the China General Chamber of Commerce annual gala in Chicago.
: US Ambassador to China Burns criticizes China’s actions in Xinjiang and Tibet in a statement released in honor of International Human Rights Day.
: Marking International Human Rights Day, the US imposes sanctions on two senior Chinese officials over “serious human rights abuses” in Tibet and another official for arbitrary detention of Falun Gong practitioners.
: US Treasury imposes sanctions on two large Chinese fishing fleet companies that it accuses of engaging in illegal fishing and human rights abuses, and adds eight other Chinese fishing entities to its specially designated nationals list.
: US Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim holds a videoconference with PRC Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming to discuss the DPRK’s increasingly destabilizing and escalatory behavior.
: State Department approves possible Foreign Military Sale of aircraft standard and non-standard spare parts and related equipment to Taiwan, collectively worth approximately $428 million.
: Defense Security Cooperation Agency notifies Congress of a proposed arms sale to Taiwan of 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 20 Army Tactical Missile Systems Pods, and other equipment worth $520 million as an addition to an October 2020 sale.
: Idaho Gov. Brad Little arrives in Taiwan for a four-day visit with a trade delegation.
: US-China Economic and Security Review Commission releases a report on the PRC in International Organizations.
: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo gives remarks at MIT titled “US Competitiveness and the China Challenge.”
: Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) conducts a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands.
: Department of Defense releases its annual report, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.
: Defense Secretary Austin meets with Minister of National Defense Gen. Wei Fenghe on the margins of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus in Cambodia.
: US Trade Representative Katherine Tai meets Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao on the margins of the APEC Ministerial Meeting.
: Treasury Secretary Yellen meets People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang in Indonesia.
: US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio sentences Yanjun Xu, a Chinese intelligence officer, to 20 years in prison for attempting to steal technology and proprietary information from a US company.
: US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Chinese Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua meet on the sidelines of C0P 27.
: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Milley says in a Pentagon press briefing that he thinks President Xi will avoid attacking in Taiwan in the near future.
: In testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee, FBI Director Christopher Wray says that China has stolen more US business and personal data than all other countries put together and that the FBI has serious national security concerns about the China-based TikTok app.
: Congressional-Executive Commission on China holds a heading titled “China’s Zero-COVID Policy and Authoritarian Public Health Control.”
: US-China Economic and Security Review Commission releases annual report to Congress.
: President Biden and President Xi hold a three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, their first in-person meeting as presidents.
: Department of Treasury delivers its semiannual Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States, which calls for increased transparency from China, including on foreign exchange intervention.
: President Biden extends for an additional year the national emergency declared in 2020 related to the threat from securities investments that finance certain Chinese companies.
: US Ambassador to China Burns meets China’s Ambassador to the US Qin Gang, in Beijing.
: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) carries out a routine Taiwan Strait transit, US Pacific Fleet confirms.
: Commander of US Strategic Command says that US deterrence levels against China are sinking and China could outcompete the US in the future.
: Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr travels to Taipei, becoming the first FCC Commissioner to visit Taiwan, meets counterparts at the National Communications Commission, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
: Secretary Blinken speaks with FM Wang Yi about responsible management of the US-China relationship, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the situation in Haiti.
: US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns meets with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss US-China relations.
: Secretary of Defense Austin releases 2022 National Defense Strategy, which codifies China as the US military’s pacing challenge and seeks to prevent the PRC’s dominance of key regions. He also releases the Nuclear Posture Review and the Missile Defense Review.
: President Biden addresses a meeting of Department of Defense leaders that “there doesn’t need to be conflict” between the US and China and emphasizes the need to responsibly manage the competition between the two countries.
: President Xi says that “China stands ready to work with the United States to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era on the basis of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” in a congratulatory message to the annual Gala Dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations.
: Department of Justice charges individuals for alleged participation on malign schemes in the US on behalf of the Chinese government, including conspiracy to forcibly repatriate Chinese nationals, obstruction of judge, and acting as illegal agents of a foreign country.
: Secretary Blinken in an interview with George Stephanopoulos says regarding Taiwan that “a decision that was made in Beijing some years ago that that was no longer acceptable and that the government wanted to speed up the reunification, and to do it… potentially by any means, through coercion and pressure and potentially, if necessary, by force.”
: Maritime forces from the US, Canada, and Japan conduct exercises in the South China Sea in support of Royal Australian Navy forces.
: Secretary Blinken joins event with Condoleezza Rice in which he states that Beijing decided that the cross-Strait status quo is unacceptable and would pursue reunification on a much faster timeline.
: Xi Jinping delivers political report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
: Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) leads congressional delegation of five Representatives to Taiwan, meets President Tsai and participates in National Day celebrations.
: President Biden releases National Security Strategy, which refers to China as a strategic competitor and says the next 10 years will be a decisive decade for the relationship.
: The Office of the US Trade Representative announces a request for public comment on Section 301 tariffs against China as part of the statutory four-year review process.
: Department of Defense signs a waiver allowing non-compliant specialty metals from China to be used in F-35 development through October 2023, says is needed for national security interests.
: Commerce Department announces new limits restricting the sale of advanced computing chips, chip-making equipment, and other technology to China.
: Department of Defense releases list of 13 new Chinese military companies operating directly or indirectly in the US in accordance with Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act.
: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and fleet replenishment-oiler USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204), in cooperation with the Royal Canadian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, conducts exercises in the South China Sea.
: State Department imposes sanctions on two entities based in China, Zhonggu Storage and Transportation Co. Ltd. and WS Shipping Co. Ltd., for involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade.
: Vice President Kamala Harris criticizes China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific during her second trip to Asia, accusing Beijing of “undermining key elements of the international rules-based order.”
: State Councilor and FM Wang Yi meets Secretary Blinken on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Laura Rosenberger, special assistant to the president and senior director for China at the National Security Council, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink also meet with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng.
: Chinese FM Wang Yi addresses the Asia Society in New York with a speech titled “The Right Way for China and the United States to Get Along in the New Era.”
: Leaders of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup commit to complying with a potential US demand to pull out of China if Beijing were to attack to Taiwan during a hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services.
: The House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation, holds a closed members briefing on China.
: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331), conducts a routine Taiwan Strait transit.
: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with representative members of the National Committee on US-China Relations, the US-China Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce in New York and meets Henry Kissinger.
: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331), conducts exercises in the South China Sea.
: President Biden gives interview to CBS’ 60 Minutes in which he answers questions about what the US would do if China invades Taiwan.
: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that the Chinese government has sanctioned Gregory J. Hayes, chairman and chief executive officer of Raytheon Technologies Corp., and Theodore Colbert III, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, due to their involvement in the latest arms sales to Taiwan.
: President Biden signs executive order directing the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CIFUS) to concentrate on specific types of transactions that would give a foreign power access to key technologies that are critical to US economic growth.
: Congressional-Executive Commission on China holds a hearing titled “Control of Religion in China through Digital Authoritarianism.”
: Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL-07) leads a congressional delegation of eight Congressional representatives to Taiwan, meets with President Tsai Ing-wen.
: State Department approves a possible Foreign Military Sale to Taiwan of AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder Missiles, AGM-84L-1 Harpoon Block II Missiles, Surveillance Radar Program, and related equipment, collectively worth approximately $1.1 billion.
: Office of the US Trade Representative confirms that domestic industry representatives requested continuation of Section 301 tariffs on China and the tariffs accordingly did not expire on their four-year anniversary.