The U.S. Justice Department alleges Huawei and Meng violated trade sanctions against Iran and committed fraud and requests her extradition. In apparent retaliation, China detains two Canadian citizens, who officials accuse of undermining China’s national security. Calling Meng’s arrest a “serious political incident,” Chinese officials demand her immediate release.
During his meetings with the officials, Blinken also raised concerns over the fair treatment of American companies in China and the global economic consequences of China’s “industrial overcapacity”. He also reiterated that the US will continue to prevent “advanced US technologies from being used to undermine our national security and economy without unduly limiting trade or investment”, in reference to the US’ export restrictions on various types of advanced technologies to China. According to a MOFCOM spokesperson, the primary aim of the export controls is to enhance national security by ensuring that advanced technology does not fall into the hands of adversaries or entities that could use it against China’s interests. The measures also align with China’s international obligations to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to combat terrorism. By controlling the export of sophisticated drone technology, China aims to comply with international non-proliferation agreements and restrict the use of such technology for harmful purposes. On August 29, 2024, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing in the first visit by a US national security advisor to China in eight years as part of ongoing efforts to increase bilateral engagement.
- Companies wishing to export goods that fall under these categories will be required to undergo export licensing procedures, which include filling in an export application form for dual-use items and technologies.
- Former President Joe Biden moved the U.S. from “strategic ambiguity”—the policy of deliberately not clarifying whether the U.S. would militarily defend Taiwan—to “strategic clarity,” Qi says.
- At about the same time, China released two imprisoned Canadians, Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor, who had been held in China for over 1000 days.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act on the prevention of forced labor was passed in the Congress. The Americans have imposed sanctions on Chinese companies and announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Biden administration has also announced a further investigation into the origin of COVID-19. Additional activities were conducted by the strengthening of the military presence in Japan, South Korea and the establishment of the AUKUS defense pact.
There are multiple unofficial but regular convenings among think tank and academic specialists—so-called Track 2 dialogues—and high-level intergovernmental summits and commissions that might prove useful. But replacing possibly fruitless attempts to slow China’s industry with an effort to make progress on reducing the likelihood that AI will cause, complicate, or accelerate armed crises seems a tradespace worth exploring. President Donald Trump is uniquely capable of reorienting America’s mindset on technology competition with China. As an outsider to America’s national security establishment, he does not hold a rigid view on the need to hold back China’s technological advances. He does not seem encumbered by anxiety about being labeled as “weak on China.” He also is focused on finding ways to strengthen America’s goods exports. Another prong is the United States’ castration of its own defense mechanisms, coupled with a rolling back of regulatory oversight over private companies’ AI innovation.
The limits of hindering China’s high-technology sector
Sullivan explained that the stakes of the U.S-China tech competition were so dramatic that the United States must implement unconditional export controls to try to throttle China’s advancements in foundational technologies to “maintain as large a lead as possible” over China. Indeed, the arrival of new technologies with national security implications, such as functional quantum computing and new frontiers in synthetic biology, may motivate similar efforts in the coming years, particularly if both spaces are accelerated by AI itself. Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said Thursday that the island is determined to defend itself, after outlining annual military exercises for July. The defense ministry reported earlier that day another Chinese “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan, involving warships and warplanes. China previously sent 46 military aircraft over the Taiwan Strait in the 24 hours before last Friday morning, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry, after U.S. lawmakers met with Koo in a rare publicly disclosed meeting. Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecom and electronics company Huawei, is arrested in Canada at the United States’ request.
- Chinese officials say the United States is trying to “politicize sports, create divisions and provoke confrontation.” No athletes publicly protest during the Olympics, though several skip the opening ceremony and speak out against China’s abuses after the games.
- China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has announced that it will place export restrictions on 14 gallium and germanium items, key metals used for the production of chips and other electronic components, in order to “safeguard national security and interests”.
- A majority of countries do not recognize Taiwan as an independent country, including the U.S., although the U.S. opposes the use of force by Beijing to claim Taiwan and provides Taiwan with defensive military capabilities.
- The US also endorses the One China Policy and transfers diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
- To secure leadership in AI in the next five years, the United States must reestablish and reinvest in the partnerships between industry, academia, and government that have facilitated American growth in technology.
Collaboration on Climate Change Amid Tensions
The US and nationalists sign the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and the US joint chiefs of staff recommend the use of nuclear weapons on China. This brinkmanship leads to the negotiating table and a nationalist withdrawal from a few islands. The end of World War II left the Korean Peninsula divided along the 38th parallel between a Soviet-backed North and a US-backed South.
Is there a trade war between the United States and China?
U.S. sanctions have spurred collaboration between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, including through setting up international collaborative organizations like BRICS as alternatives to a U.S.-led international order. But the global influence of these organizations is hampered by a lack of “sufficient critical mass,” Stephen Olson, a visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, told Nikkei Asia. In another blow to China’s push to become a regional leader, India on Thursday rejected signing a joint statement facilitated by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization—one such grouping set up by China and Russia to counter U.S. influence. Biden and Xi discuss topics including Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The bill must be passed by the Senate before being signed into law by President Joe Biden, who has previously stated that he will do so if it is passed by Congress. Uncertainty bdswiss forex broker review remains surrounding whether the Senate will pass the bill, as there is more disagreement regarding how to handle issues surrounding social media platforms. Additionally, senators, the Biden Administration may come under pressure from younger voters to abandon backing the bill.
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But for the United States to remain competitive, it must rely on the innovation of the private sector, which despite the fragmented efforts led by the tech giants, will ultimately deliver advanced capabilities in software, applications, and compute power. Yet, the “research triangle” between academia, industry, and government, which Brookings scholar Ryan Hass cited as a pillar to American leadership in AI in the first Trump administration, is being dismantled due to slashed funding of government labs and top research universities. The administration’s cuts to the National Science Foundation’s budget have shrunk funding in computer science by 31%, and some researchers estimate increases in AI and quantum funding are marginal compared to inflation rates. Yet just a few years later, the presidents of the United States and China released a joint statement pledging “to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.” While terse, it was striking in many ways. First, it articulated that laying the groundwork for a real-life Skynet is probably best avoided, and that a solid step in that direction would be leaving the gravest of national security decisions to a human leader, not machines that continue to struggle with high reliability. The depths of the cratered U.S.-China relationship created conditions of mistrust so dire that such a common-sense statement was needed, and from national leaders no less.
Further, Trump’s efforts toward “aggressively revoking” the visas of Chinese international students working in critical fields will deter current and future foreign students from pursuing opportunities in the United States. If the bilateral relationship to that point had been a boulder rolling slowly downhill, these technology policies pushed it over a cliff. Continuation of these measures, or even the addition of new ones should the Trump administration choose to do so, will therefore have a substantially less dramatic effect on the relationship, either as a signal of U.S. intent or as a means of hindering China’s ability to develop and apply AI-enabled technologies.
Clinton’s call for “increased investment—diplomatic, economic, strategic, and otherwise—in the Asia-Pacific region” is seen as a move to counter China’s growing clout. President Barack Obama announces the United States and eight other nations have reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership—a multinational free trade agreement. Obama later announces plans to deploy 2,500 marines in Australia, prompting criticism from Beijing. U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants China full diplomatic recognition, while acknowledging mainland China’s One-China principle and severing normal ties with Taiwan. Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, who leads China through major economic reforms, visits the United States shortly thereafter.
This reflects the overall recovery of domestic and international travel that has been recorded at the beginning of 2023. Possible topics of discussion during the potential visit include plans for China to reduce methane emissions. Although airlines are now permitted to operate more flight routes, it is not guaranteed that they will be able to operate at full capacity, as there are several other factors keeping flight numbers down. These include a sluggish recovery of demand from passengers in the US, lower levels of business travel, and pilot staffing issues. Due to this, the cost of flights between China and the US remains significantly higher than they were pre-pandemic, further discouraging travel between the two countries. Secretary Antony Blinken has hinted that the trip may be rescheduled for sometime later this year, while US Climate Envoy John Kerry recently told media he had been invited to China to meet his Chinese counterpart, which may take place in the “near term”.
On November 22, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of 29 China-based companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, increasing the total number of entities on the list to 107. Here, we present a fresh timeline that will track key developments affecting bilateral ties between the world’s two largest economies under the Biden administration. CGTN has sorted out a brief timeline on comments and remarks delivered by the Chinese and U.S. sides over the bilateral relations from January till the latest events.
Diplomacy post-Biden-Xi summit is a test of intentions.
At the opening ceremony of the US pavilion at the CIIE, the US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns called for more bilateral trade between the US and China, and stated that he is “not in favor of decoupling these two economies”. The importance of the Chinese market to US agriculture makes it a pragmatic entry point to improving US-China relations and trade ties. Among them is the US Heartland China Association, a private bipartisan organization that aims to build stronger ties between China and the US’ agriculture and industry-driven heartland region, which is sending a delegation of 20 state governors “to explore trade opportunities”. In addition, delegates from the American Meat Export Federation, the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, the USA Rice Federation, and the US Cranberry Marketing Committee will also be present, per CIIE organizers. The conclusion of the meetings coincided with the release by the MEE of a Methane Emissions Control Action Plan, a potential move to lay the groundwork for further discussions on methane reduction at COP28.
