US-CHINA RELATIONS VISUAL EXPLAINER
Metadata
- US-CHINA RELATIONS VISUAL EXPLAINER
- May 17, 2023
- ((INTRO)) On January 15, a giant white balloon was detected off the coast of Hainan, an island province in southeastern China. [[ https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/20/science/chinese-space-balloon-incident.html]] By January 28, it had entered U.S. airspace over Alaska and proceeded to float southward over Canada. From January 31 to February 4, it traversed the continental United States until it was destroyed by a U.S. fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina. The event triggered new tension between the United States and China, as well as a flurry of memes across the internet.
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script US-CHINA RELATIONS VISUAL EXPLAINER HEADLINE: Beyond the Balloon: The Complicated History Behind US-China Relations DEADLINE: PUBLISHED AT: 05/16/2023 Byline: VOA Graphics AVAILABLE FOR: SOCIAL X WEB X STANDALONE GRAPHIC__ PAIRS WITH WEB STORY__ WRITER/PRODUCER: Rebeca Rosman (contact: Liz Walsh/VOA Graphics) SCRIPT EDITORS: Mia Bush, wpm, Steve Hirsch, David Jones APPROVED BY: SOURCES: Listed on right EDITOR NOTES: PRODUCER NOTE: THIS IS A VISUAL EXPLAINER. THE TEXT BELOW WILL ULTIMATELY BE A VO. FOR AN EXAMPLE OF THIS STYLE, PLEASE SEE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs85NssCtGU&ab_channel=VoiceofAmerica )) ((INTRO)) On January 15, a giant white balloon was detected off the coast of Hainan, an island province in southeastern China. [[ https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/20/science/chinese-space-balloon-incident.html]] By January 28, it had entered U.S. airspace over Alaska and proceeded to float southward over Canada. From January 31 to February 4, it traversed the continental United States until it was destroyed by a U.S. fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina. The event triggered new tension between the United States and China, as well as a flurry of memes across the internet. From the mystery balloon to TikTok privacy concerns; a trade war and a race to determine who will be the leading exporter of semiconductors, [[ https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63995570 ]] the issues affecting U.S.-China relations have been challenging in recent years. But history reveals decades of strained diplomatic ties between the world’s two largest economies. VOA looks back at more than 50 years of on-again, off-again relations. TEXT SOURCE U.S.-China relations were tested in early February when a mysterious white balloon was filmed flying over the western U.S. state of Montana. Associated Press The Biden administration shot down the device, which it described as a Chinese surveillance balloon. The Pentagon said it was collecting intelligence as it flew over sensitive sites, including three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The Chinese Associated Press Reuters government, meanwhile, insisted the balloon was only collecting weather information. Political turmoil ensued. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a scheduled trip to Beijing. China’s top diplomat called the U.S. reaction “hysterical and absurd.” NPR Reuters This is far from the first diplomatic rift between the two countries. Not long after the Korean War ended in an armistice 1953, new fighting erupted between Mao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China and Chiang Kai-shek’s exiled government in Taiwan. The United States sided with Taiwan, and in 1954 the two signed a mutual defense treaty. For years, relations between Washington and Beijing were strained. Council on Foreign Relations That is, until the late 1960s, when the two countries discovered a newfound common enemy after diplomatic relations between China and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1969 during the Sino-Russian border crisis. PBS As Beijing and Moscow grew apart, officials in Washington saw an opportunity. In his 1969 inaugural address, President Richard Nixon spoke of “an era of negotiation” with China. PBS In 1971, China’s table tennis team invited players from the United States for a match, making them among the first Americans permitted to enter China since 1949. In July 1971, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a secret trip to China, preparing for President [see below; breaks are here for VO] Council on Foreign Relations Richard Nixon’s landmark eight-day visit to China in 1972. Nixon met with Mao and later signed the Shanghai Communiqué with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. The communique laid the cornerstone for subsequent U.S.-China diplomatic ties and provided a mechanism for tackling difficult issues such as Taiwan. Council on Foreign Relations, PBS Relations improved again under the leadership of President Jimmy Carter and Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and continued to improve under President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. PBS CFR But those ties were put to the test in June 1989, when thousands of students, demanding democratic reforms and a crackdown on government corruption, held peaceful protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The government responded by sending in military troops to clear the square, killing hundreds of protesters. The U.S. government suspended arms sales to Beijing and put relations on hold until [see below; breaks are here for VO] Council on Foreign Relations Amnesty 1993. President Bill Clinton introduced a policy of constructive engagement with China after Beijing released Wei Jingsheng, a human rights activist and political prisoner held since 1979. But Wei’s initial release lasted less than a year. After China lost its bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games, officials once again imprisoned Wei. He was released in 1997 and deported to the United States, where he remains a dissident and outspoken critic of the Chinese government. European Parliament LA Times CFR In May 1999, U.S.-China relations plummeted. During a NATO air campaign against Serbian forces occupying Kosovo in Southeast Europe, a U.S. plane accidentally dropped bombs on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Three Chinese state media journalists were killed. Despite an apology issued by NATO and the United States, Chinese protesters surrounded the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, keeping embassy staff trapped for four days. BBC In October 2000, Clinton signed the U.S.-China Relations Act, normalizing trade relations between the United States and China and paving the way for China to join the World Trade Organization the following year. By 2006, China surpassed Mexico as the United States’ second-largest trading partner, after Canada. Council on Foreign Relations In 2015, the United States called on China to halt its controversial land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea. The maritime area is an ongoing cause of territorial disputes among China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. The South China Sea makes up one of the most strategically important economic and environmental regions in the world, with more than half of the world’s fishing vessels operating in the region. For China, its territorial expansion in the South China sea, including a chain of artificial islands, is also an opportunity to build up its military activities, including construction of an airstrip. The United States and other countries see China’s increased presence in the region as a sign of aggression. Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations [search “rely heavily on fisheries”] US Embassy Reuters In December 2016, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump broke norms by having a telephone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and questioning the U.S. commitment to the “One China” policy, under which the United States recognizes Beijing as representing all of China. The call left leaders in Beijing feeling uneasy. Reuters In his second year in office, Trump announced trade tariffs on Chinese imports in response to alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property. This White House started a U.S.-China trade war, with Trump arguing the unilateral tariffs would shrink the U.S. trade deficit and bring more manufacturing jobs in China back to the United States. Council on Foreign Relations In 2019, protests broke out across Hong Kong over a proposed law allowing extradition of accused individuals to mainland China. Critics see the proposed law as a sign Beijing is ready to tighten its grip on the autonomous territory. NYT The following year, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared the era of engagement with the Chinese Communist Party was over, citing unfair trade practices; intellectual property theft; human rights abuses, including against protesters in Hong Kong and the Muslim Uyghur population in Xinjiang; and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. State Department Soon after Trump left office, President Joe Biden’s administration affirmed Pompeo’s declaration and by year’s end, banned all imports from the Xinjiang region. The administration also maintained tariffs on Chinese imports. State Department Council on Foreign Relations In early 2022, the United States imposed a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing the Chinese government’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang and elsewhere. In response, Chinese officials accused the U.S. of trying to “politicize sports.” Reuters Just days after Russia reportedly asked China for military assistance in its invasion of Ukraine, President Biden held a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, threatening that there would be consequences if China followed through with the request. The Chinese government, which refused to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion, criticized the U.S. and its Western allies for sanctioning Russian officials. White House Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry Al Jazeera In August 2022, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei on a trip she said was meant to show U.S. support for the self-governing island claimed by China. The controversial trip caused Beijing to suspend U.S.-China climate talks, cut off some high-level military communication channels and sanction Pelosi. Council on Foreign Relations Reuters In November 2022, Xi and Biden met in person for the first time – 10 months after Biden took office -- in Bali, Indonesia. Both leaders said they wanted to ease bilateral tensions and reopen some communication channels, including the climate talks that were suspended following Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The Chinese foreign ministry quoted Xi as saying the United States and China must explore “the right way to get along.” Council on Foreign Relations [Xi says the countries need to “explore the right way to get along,” according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.] White House In February 2023, the U.S. Air Force shot down a Chinese-operated balloon that had traversed the United States and floated over the Atlantic Ocean off the South Carolina coast. China condemned the downing and warned that it would retaliate. The incident led to fresh concerns over U.S.-China relations, which were already strained. Associated Press US DOD A new era of hawkish policies toward Beijing is expected to grow in Washington, including data protection concerns over the Chinese-owned TikTok app, the race to become the global computer chip powerhouse, efforts to wean the United States from dependence on critical minerals controlled by China, and an increased U.S. military presence in the Pacific as both countries prepare for a potential armed conflict over Taiwan. CBS News NYT White House WSJ
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date May 16, 2023 20:11 EDT
- Byline VOA Graphics
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English