US-China Relations in the Biden-Era: A Timeline

Meanwhile, according to a readout from the White House, Biden “emphasized that both the United States and China need to manage competition in the relationship responsibly and maintain open lines of communication” and that “the United States and China must work together to address global challenges”. According to a brief statement from the Chinese Ministry of Environment and Ecology (MEE), the two sides conducted a “a comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views, and the meeting “reached positive results on carrying out bilateral cooperation and actions on climate change and jointly promoting the success of COP28”. China’s veteran climate envoy Xie Zhenhua has met with US climate envoy John Kerry in California to promote bilateral cooperation on climate change ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will convene at the end of November in Dubai. Yellen and He previously met in July 2023 during the former’s trip to Beijing, in which the two agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and communications on economic issues in particular. These meetings resulted in the establishment of the Economic and Financial Working Groups in September, which convened “for the first time in recent weeks and had their second meetings yesterday” (November 9), according to Yellen. In a press briefing held at the close of the meetings, the secretary emphasized that the US aims to achieve “a healthy economic relationship that benefits both our countries over time” and that it does “not seek to decouple its economy from China’s”.

Blinken also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and senior diplomat Wang Yi on Sunday and Monday morning, with whom he held what was described as “candid and constructive” conversations. “the United States needs to respect China and must not hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests”. President Xi reportedly told Kissinger that “Chinese people value friendship, and we will never forget our old friend and your historic contribution to promoting the development of China-US relations and enhancing the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples”.

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That the U.S. intervened to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, potentially upending decades of global nuclear diplomacy, “reinforces China’s view of the U.S. as a disruptive power, intent on setting rules, but not following them when inconvenient,” Lin says. “Iran sees China more as an economic partner than a security ally,” Lin Jing, a research fellow at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, tells TIME. While China has deepened its investment in the Middle East over the years and developed close economic ties with Iran while maintaining ties with Israel, it does not hold the same level of either economic or political leverage over either country as the U.S. But experts tell TIME it was no surprise to anyone, including China, that only the U.S. could have brought an end to the war. The 18th National Party Congress concludes with the most significant leadership turnover in decades as about 70 percent of the members of the country’s major leadership bodies—the Politburo Standing Committee, the Central Military Commission, and the State Council—are replaced. Li Keqiang assumes the role of premier, while Xi Jinping replaces Hu Jintao as president, Communist Party general secretary, and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

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Meanwhile, Blinken told President Xi that President Joe Biden had stated that “the United States and China have an obligation and responsibility to manage our relationship” and that this is “in the interest of the United States, in the interests of China, and in the interest of the world”. Chinese and US officials have increased bilateral engagement in recent months, signaling that the two countries are striving to make a breakthrough in the frosty relations. Given that Kissinger is no longer a serving official in the US, these meetings are largely symbolic and can be partly seen as an effort by Kissinger to solidify his diplomatic legacy. Nonetheless, he is also representative of China’s ideal diplomatic engagement with the US, while the meetings serve to highlight how much attitudes in Washington toward China have changed in the past decade.

On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, offering a chance to change the course of US-China relations, which had hit a low point under the outgoing Trump administration. The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to conduct in-depth, nonpartisan research to improve policy and governance at local, national, and global levels. The AI revolution is reshaping U.S.-China relations, with technological development likely to be a primary driver of bilateral dynamics over the next five years. As machines handle routine cognitive tasks, human value will lie in asking meaningful questions, grappling with moral complexity, and imagining futures beyond data, where the United States holds latent strengths that could become a strategic edge if cultivated.

  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with US President Joe Biden and other high-level US officials during his trip to Washington DC, a preparatory visit ahead of the potential meeting between Biden and President Xi Jinping at the APEC Conference in San Francisco in November.
  • China and the US have previously collaborated on counternarcotics work, however, China-US counternarcotics cooperation was suspended in August 2022 in retaliation to then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island of Taiwan.
  • The tariffs on 95 goods included in the 11th batch of tariff-exempted US goods will continue to be waived until December 31, 2023.
  • A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has confirmed in a brief statement that President Xi Jinping will attend the APEC Summit in San Francisco from November 14 to 17, during which he will hold a meeting with President Joe Biden.

Biden and Xi Hold Talks Following APEC Summit

In November 2021, Washington and Beijing agree to ease restrictions on journalists working in each other’s countries. Amid legal proceedings against Meng, Huawei sues the United States in a separate lawsuit for banning U.S. federal agencies from using the telecom giant’s equipment. In a battle with Beijing for technological supremacy, the Trump administration launches an aggressive campaign warning other countries not to use Huawei equipment to build 5G networks, claiming the Chinese government could use the company to spy. In an essay for Foreign Policy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlines a U.S. “pivot” to Asia.

Biden’s China Strategy a Call to Revive U.S. Competitiveness

  • The fact that it has now instead chosen to increase tariffs reflects how the trade relationship between China and the US has evolved in the last two years despite improvements in diplomatic dialogue, as well as the increasingly elevated position of renewables and high-end technologies as a consideration in national security.
  • In a 2022 report, the USTR office said it has become “widely accepted in the United States that WTO rules do not, and cannot, effectively discipline many of China’s most harmful policies and practices.” That view has informed the decisions of both Democrat and Republican leaders, who continue to neuter the WTO.
  • The US side also reiterated the US’s commitment to the One China Policy, as well as the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three US-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.
  • “We firmly oppose NATO using China as an excuse to expand eastward into the Asia-Pacific and urge NATO to reflect on its own behaviors, change course, and contribute more to global security and stability,” Chinese defense spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said at a regular press conference on Thursday.
  • The PRC has also created AI-generated deepfakes of U.S. politicians who Beijing dislikes to discredit or lie about their positions on key policy issues.

On Taiwan, the White House readout stated that “The President reiterated that U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed, and emphasized that the United States continues to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo”. Meanwhile, the FMPRC wrote that “Biden reiterated that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change China’s system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the US does not support “Taiwan independence”; and it has no intention to seek a conflict with China”. President Xi and President Biden spoke on a conference call on Friday evening (March 18), the first direct communication between the two leaders since their virtual summit in November 2021 and the first talk since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has added the social media company Sina Weibo to a list of companies for possible delisting under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA). The addition follows the publication on March 10 of a provisional list of five Chinese companies for possible delisting from US stock exchanges (see Day 414 – 420 update).

The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 33 Chinese entities to the Unverified List (UVL). On March, 10, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the securities regulator, published a provisional list of issuers identified under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA). Both readouts stated that the presidents had each tasked their teams to “follow up” on the conversation, indicating more talks ahead. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which was passed in December 2021, takes effect today. The UFLPA bans the import of products made in part or wholly in Xinjiang unless the US Customs and Border Protection agency can certify that the products are not made with forced labor. With this action, the Commerce Department will have approximately 600 Chinese entities on the Entity List – more than 110 of which have been added since the start of the Biden Administration.

what is the current relationship between china and the united states 2021

The seven-month conflict sets the scene for ping-pong diplomacy and US President Richard Nixon’s landmark visit in 1972. Combined with fears of looming conflict, this predicament may help explain Xi’s interest in the recent summit, perhaps creating possibilities for altering some of equiti broker review Beijing’s policies. The United States—and the rest of the world—may have more leverage over Beijing’s behavior than they realize, despite the heated rhetoric emerging from Chinese media and diplomats. The summit attempted to put a floor on a conflict that threatens to spiral out of control and see if there was enough space for both sides to accept power limits and find room for compromise. It’s not clear whether that’s possible or whether U.S. and Chinese ambitions are fundamentally incompatible.

Rethinking U.S.-China competition and talent development in the age of AI

Both sides called for increasing cooperation and working together on major issues “such as climate change, global macroeconomic stability including debt relief, health security, and global food security”, according to the official meeting readout published on the White House website. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the US Department of Commerce has issued a new rule adding 37 entities to its so-called “Entity List”, which subjects companies to export controls and additional licensing requirements. Of the 37 entities, 28 were Chinese, and were added “for acquiring and attempting to acquire US-origin items in support of the PRC’s military modernization efforts, and for supplying or attempting to supply a sanctioned entity in Iran”. The United States and China will not only need to manage their own strategic rivalry but also take steps to guard against AI misuse by rogue actors.

Tensions Flare Over Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan

China calls the balloon a civilian weather-monitoring craft that accidentally veered into U.S. air space. China’s foreign ministry condemns the downing as “a serious violation of international practice” and vows retaliation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing, raising fresh concerns over a worsening of U.S.-China relations already strained by U.S. support for Taiwan and trade frictions. The U.S. Commerce Department places sweeping restrictions PDF on exports of U.S.-made advanced computing chips and related equipment to China. Commerce officials say China is using these items to “produce advanced military systems” and “commit human rights abuses.” U.S. companies and individuals who want to support China’s chip development now require approval from the U.S. government to do so.

On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson and former foreign minister Wang Yi held an informal meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss a variety of security issues, including the so-called “balloon incident” and the Russia-Ukraine war. The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has added 37 new entities to the “Entity List” for export restrictions, of which 28 are Chinese. According to the BIS’ press release, the companies were added to the Entity List because they are “contributing to Russia’s military and/or defense industrial base, supporting PRC military modernization, and facilitating or engaging in human rights abuses in Burma and in the People’s Republic of China”.