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Oct. 4, 2008: Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesman Hu Changming expresses China’s firm objection to a U.S. decision to sell $6.5 billion in arms to Taiwan. Oct. 4, 2008: U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill briefs Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing on the outcome of U.S.-North Korea talks in Pyongyang. Oct. 4, 2008: China’s Central Bank expresses support on its website for Washington’s $700 billion bailout package and calls for greater cooperation on financial stabilization. Oct. 6, 2008: U.S. Defense Department spokesman says China has canceled a series of military and diplomatic exchanges with the U.S. to protest the planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Oct. 7, 2008: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang condemns the proposed U.S. arms sales package to Taiwan. Oct. 7, 2008: Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang says China hopes the U.S. will soon repatriate the 17 suspected Chinese terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay. Oct. 8, 2008: Alan Hegburg, a deputy assistant secretary with the U.S. Energy Department, tells the press that the U.S. would welcome Chinese investments in its oil and gas sector. Oct. 8, 2008: U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina orders the Bush Administration to free 17 Chinese from Guantanamo Bay by Oct. 10. Oct. 9, 2008: A U.S. trade official says the U.S. has won a landmark WTO case against China’s copyright and trademark protection regime, contradicting other trade sources’ claims that China won the bulk of the ruling. Oct. 9, 2008: U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel formally requests the U.S. International Trade Commission to collect trade data on Chinese clothing imports. Oct. 9, 2008: The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) arrives in Hong Kong for a scheduled four-day port visit. Oct. 10, 2008: China Merchants Bank’s New York branch opens for business, becoming the first Chinese bank branch to open in the U.S. in 17 years. ∗ Chronology by CSIS interns See-won Byun and David Szerlip U.S.-China Relations 36 January 2009 Oct. 11, 2008: At the 18th meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee in Washington, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China Yi Gang calls for international cooperation to restore global financial stability. Oct. 13, 2008: Defense Minister Liang Guanglie tells visiting U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel that Washington must drop its proposed arms sales to Taiwan, saying the plan “has undoubtedly damaged relations between the two countries and two armed forces seriously.” Oct. 15, 2008: Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer visits China to discuss African issues as part of the U.S.-China Senior Dialogue and delivers a speech at Peking University on bilateral cooperation on Africa. Oct. 21, 2008: President Hu holds telephone talks with President Bush on international cooperation in dealing with the global financial turmoil. Oct. 21, 2008: Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang urges the U.S. to repatriate suspected Chinese terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, stressing that “no double standards should be adopted” on terrorism. Oct. 21, 2008: Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, meets a U.S. Congress delegation in Beijing. Oct. 22, 2008: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the annual gala of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in New York urges the next U.S. president to strengthen bilateral ties given China’s leading role in the world economy. Oct. 23, 2008: Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Center for Disease Control tells reporters in Beijing that the U.S. is expanding a training program for Chinese health officials to promote transparency during disease outbreaks. Oct. 23, 2008: State Department spokesman Robert Wood condemns the “brutal beating” of the two sons of detained Beijing priest Zhang Mingxuan. Oct. 25, 2008: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu calls U.S. remarks on the intimidation of a Beijing pastor “groundless” and “irresponsible,” telling the U.S. “to pay more attention to its own human rights problems.” Oct. 27, 2008: China and the U.S. sign a “Strategic Cooperation Memorandum on Copyrights,” setting a framework for bilateral cooperation on intellectual property rights. Oct. 28, 2008: Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Tim Stratford visits Beijing and cautions China against adopting protectionist policies that run counter to WTO rules. Oct. 28, 2008: U.S. Justice Department reports that a multiagency initiative to combat illegal exports of restricted military and dual-use technology from the U.S. has resulted in criminal U.S.-China Relations 37 January 2009 charges against more than 145 defendants in the past fiscal year, with roughly 43 percent of these cases involving munitions or other restricted technology bound for Iran or China. Oct. 29, 2008: Sen. Obama in a letter vows to use “all diplomatic means” to stop China from gaining a trade advantage, if elected president. Nov. 5, 2008: President Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao congratulate Barack Obama on his election as U.S. president. Nov. 7, 2008: Chinese and U.S. representatives express differences of opinion over copyright protection at the 7th Annual Ambassador’s IPR Roundtable in Beijing. Nov. 8, 2008: President Hu and President-elect Obama have a telephone conversation on bilateral and international issues. Nov. 13, 2008: The Chinese mission to the WTO says China has reached “mutually satisfactory solutions” with the EU, the U.S., and Canada on the regulation of financial information services. Nov. 13, 2008: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says all Chinese products containing milk will be held at the U.S. border pending the results of safety tests under a new FDA order. Nov. 15, 2008: President Hu attends the G20 summit in Washington. Nov. 16-17, 2008: Director of the PLA’s foreign affairs office, Maj. Gen. Qian Lihua, tells the Financial Times that normal U.S.-China military exchanges can resume only if “the US change its ways, cancel its plans to sell weapons to Taiwan and stop its exchanges with the Taiwanese military.” He also states that the world should not be surprised if China builds an aircraft carrier but insists that Beijing would use such a vessel only for offshore defense. Nov. 17, 2008: The Institute of Electrical Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy agree to cooperate on solar energy technology. Nov. 17, 2008: Chinese, U.S., and EU leaders meet in Brussels for their first trilateral summit on product safety. Nov. 17-18, 2008: The U.S.-China Green Energy Council holds its first U.S.-China Green Energy Conference in Beijing. Nov. 18, 2008: The Congressional-Executive Commission on China releases its 2008 Annual Report on human rights and the rule of law in China. Nov. 18, 2008: Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt attend the U.S.-China workshop on food safety in Beijing. U.S.-China Relations 38 January 2009 Nov. 18, 2008: Approximately 160 representatives from the Chinese armed forces including retired generals and U.S. veterans attend the China-U.S. Veterans Peace Forum in Beijing. Nov. 19, 2008: The U.S. FDA opens its first overseas office in Beijing while China also prepares to open food and drug inspection offices in the U.S. Nov. 20, 2008: The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission releases its 2008 Annual Report to Congress, highlighting Chinese cyber attacks, authoritarian rule, and trade violations. Nov. 20, 2008: The U.S. opens its sixth Consulate in Wuhan, Hubei in central China. Nov. 21, 2008: Presidents Hu and Bush meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru to discuss bilateral issues and the global financial crisis. Nov. 22, 2008: The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex arrives in Hong Kong for a scheduled port visit. Nov. 24, 2008: A U.S. federal appeals court hears legal arguments in the case of 17 ethnic Chinese detained at Guantanamo Bay. Dec. 2, 2008: Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson tells reporters in Washington that he hopes China will allow its currency to rise against the U.S. dollar and will build on its recent stimulus package in the wake of slumping global demand for Chinese exports. Dec. 2, 2008: At the invitation of former President Bill Clinton, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi attends and addresses the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative Asia Meeting held in Hong Kong. Dec. 4-5, 2008: Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson co-chair the 5th SED in Beijing. Dec. 5, 2008: President Hu Jintao meets the U.S. delegation to the SED, saying he hopes the U.S. and China can develop a stronger system for high-level bilateral dialogue. Dec. 5, 2008: Minister of Commerce Chen Deming tells the American Chamber of Commerce in China that the U.S and China should strengthen mutual cooperation in all fields to meet the challenges brought about by the global financial crisis. Dec. 8, 2008: Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizational Affairs Brian Hook meets Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi and Director-General Wu Hailong of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences to discuss U.S.-China cooperation in the UN on UN reforms, Darfur, the Iranian nuclear issue, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Dec. 8, 2008: The Federal Reserve approves an application by China Construction Bank, China’s second-largest bank, to open its first branch in New York City. U.S.-China Relations 39 January 2009 U.S.-China Relations 40 January 2009 Dec. 8-11, 2008: The Heads of Delegation Meeting of the Six-Party Talks is held in Beijing and is chaired by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei. Dec. 8, 2008: Defense Minister Liang Guanglie urges the U.S. to cancel arms sales to Taiwan in a meeting with former U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers in Beijing. Dec. 11, 2008: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi meets chief negotiators of the Six-Party Talks, emphasizing the importance of the talks in resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear problem. Dec. 11, 2008: State Councilor Dai Bingguo speaks at the Brookings Institute, and says the U.S. and China should be partners rather than rivals while strengthening dialogue and cooperation. Dec. 12, 2008: Vice Foreign Minister Li Hui and Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue hold consultations with Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Richard Boucher in Beijing to discuss South and Central Asian affairs. Dec. 15, 2008: State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte co-chair the 6th Senior Dialogue between the U.S. and China, agreeing that high-level dialogue and cooperation must be maintained and that the U.S. will continue to adhere to its one China policy. Dec. 15, 2008: State Department deputy spokesman welcomes the establishment of direct transportation links across the Taiwan Strait, calling it a “very positive” step for the improvement of cross-Strait relations. Dec. 18, 2008: Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, says that the U.S. would welcome Beijing’s assistance in fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden, adding that the move could help rekindle stalled military-to-military relations between the U.S. and China. Dec. 19, 2008: The U.S. and Mexico jointly file a complaint against China before the WTO for unfairly using subsidies to boost exports. Dec. 19, 2008: Chen Xiaogong, assistant chief of the PLA General Staff, meets Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Sedney for talks on suspended U.S.-China military ties. Dec. 22, 2008: U.S. blocks the creation of a WTO panel after China demands an investigation of U.S. taxes on certain goods imported from China, including steel pipes and tires. It is the first time Beijing has ever sought a WTO panel in a trade dispute.