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US involvement in the region seen as containment—hurts relations
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US involvement in the region seen as containment—hurts relationsJohnson 15 (William Johnson, consultant for the Naval Post-graduate School on China policy issues. 6-23-2015, "The five most important issues in U.S.-China relations," Reuters, http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/06/23/the-five-most-important-issues-in-u-s-china-relations/) NV This week, the United States will host the seventh annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), the capstone piece of more than 90 high-level meetings between American and Chinese officials. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and his Chinese counterpart will lead the economic track, while Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterpart will co-chair the strategic track. All four will be acting as the direct representatives of their respective presidents. This year’s dialogue has special significance because it will set the stage for President Xi’s state visit in September. U.S.-China relations have been rocky recently, owing primarily to tensions in the South China Sea, China’s new law governing foreign non-governmental organizations, and friction over membership in China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In addition to these issues, Chinese and American leaders will devote substantial attention to cybersecurity and the recently disclosed hack of the Office of Personnel Management’s database, as well as the ongoing negotiations toward a U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The diplomatic community has expected previous dialogues to produce substantial agreements, but they have lower expectations for this round — due partly to recent difficulties in the relationship, as well as an inclination on both sides to save major announcements until President Xi’s state visit. I’ll briefly explain the significance of these five major issues. 1. The South China Sea The South China Sea issue has been front and center for the last 18 months, as China carried out major land reclamation efforts. While the issue stems from territorial disputes between China and various Southeast Asian nations, which don’t intrinsically involve the United States, the United States sees China’s island building activities as a potential threat to freedom of navigation along a critical trade route. China, on the other hand, sees U.S. involvement in the region as meddling in bilateral disputes with China’s neighbors. It sees enhanced U.S. military cooperation with Vietnam and the Philippines, and increased Japanese military activity in the region, as part of a U.S. strategy to contain China. The 2015 dialogue provides an opportunity to ratchet down the recent level of confrontation in order to smooth the way to a successful state visit by President Xi. Download 357.18 Kb. Share with your friends:
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