North Korea and Southeast Asia loomed large in U.S.-China relations in February 2016. Constructing a new sanctions regime which was acceptable to both countries required a couple rounds of diplomacy this month during which other issues consistently popped up creating new tensions or reigniting some that had gone dormant. A historic U.S.-ASEAN summit in Sunnylands, California also ensured that the territorial disputes in the South China Sea would remain at the top of the agenda. Overall the month was marked by significant progress in areas where common interests can be found and heated exchanges on diverging issues, the typical pattern of U.S.-China relations. The following summarizes issues that were highlighted most prominently by the two governments in February 2016.

Negotiating a Response to North Korea

The U.S. and China struggled to conclude negotiations on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution which was to implement harsher sanctions in response to North Korea’s January 2016 nuclear test. To negotiate the new sanctions regime, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met twice in February, once in Beijing and once in Washington. The two countries were eventually able to agree on the language of the resolution and a proposal was submitted to the UNSC for consideration. However, Wang Yi introduced a new Chinese approach to the denuclearization talks by calling for parallel tracks of denuclearizing North Korea while concurrently replacing the armistice with a peace treaty to officially end the Korean War. So while the two were able to devise a new round of sanctions on North Korea, other complications emerged including the contrasting opinions on a peace treaty and China’s dissatisfaction with the U.S. move to independently sanction North Korea outside of the UN resolution.

THAAD Reemerging as a Source of Tension

Another important issue that has come to the forefront in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear test in January is the ongoing debates about the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system to South Korea. Apart from the responses from both sides on the nuclear launch by North Korea in the beginning of the month, China repeatedly emphasized how the THAAD system is an unnecessary measure taken by South Korea, expressing its fear of a potential security imbalance in the region as well as insisting that such measures threatened China’s national security. On the other hand, the U.S stated that it is a defensive anti-missile system needed to deter the increasing nuclear activities of North Korea in light of its obligation as an ally to South Korea.

U.S.-ASEAN Summit Highlights Disagreement in South China Sea

The U.S. held a summit with leaders from all ten member states of ASEAN in California in what was billed as a demonstration of U.S. commitment to its rebalance to Asia strategy. The meeting reaffirmed the progress made during a meeting in November 2015 as the parties agreed to continue deepening their economic cooperation, words that came on the heels of the signing of the TPP, and reaffirmed their commitment to “a regional order where international rules and norms are upheld.” The ASEAN-US summit also served as a platform for exchanges between the U.S. and China where the two sides keep arguing within different scenarios. Whereas China’s argumentation is based on a potential future confirmation of their sovereignty rights, the U.S. still argues within the present situation of uncertainty about who has sovereignty over what. The U.S. emphasized their previous claims that China’s construction activities on various islands in the disputed areas contribute to militarization, and their own military maneuvers are thus necessary to secure the freedom of navigation. China paints a contrary picture stating it is these maneuvers that militarize the conflict which should be solved peacefully and solely between the claiming parties, i.e. without involvement of the US, ASEAN or international arbitration: “The South China Sea issue is an issue between China and some ASEAN countries, rather than [...] China and ASEAN.” However, at the same time, China did not wish to alienate its neighbors to the south and took special care to highlight cooperative projects between China and ASEAN nations as well.

Structural Change and Trade Rules

As the “new normal” continues to grip China, attention is being given to “optimizing economic structure.” In the midst of this restructuring effort, China is taking on criticism from various fronts. The European Commission has accused China of dumping surplus steel into its markets and other elements in Europe suspect the “Belt and Road” initiative of being a means for dispersing Chinese surpluses. The U.S. also continued to call for reforms to increase domestic demand in China. For its part, the Chinese government insists that the restructuring process is underway and that a new development model is being sought. This month also witnessed the signing of the TPP and the U.S. continues to push for domestic ratification. The U.S. is also pushing the TTIP, the Atlantic version of the TTP, while China steps up efforts to conclude negotiations on the RCEP by the end of this year.

Long-term Perspective on Syria Crisis and Chinese Engagement in Africa

Aside from Asia, two other world regions kept the US and China busy. Especially during the Munich Security Conference the ISIL/Syria crisis was intensively discussed, and despite all sides agreeing that bringing back peace and stability to the Middle East will be a long-term process that requires the combined efforts of the international community, Secretary of State Kerry remained optimistic in light of the established ceasefire agreement. Whereas the U.S. was quite forward in demanding more positive contributions, especially from Russia, China emphasized the importance of upholding peace talks and urged all involved actors to find a political solution.

Furthermore the U.S. used the African Union Summit to address African issues, something the U.S. has not done much of as of late. This may be in response to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s African tour during which he strengthened Xi Jin Ping’s focus on Africa, as expressed on the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in December 2015. In several meetings with African Ministers he expressed that China regards ‘’developing countries [as] the cornerstone of China's foreign policy, while Africa is the chief cornerstone’’ and coastal states like Mozambique are even considered a ‘’natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.’’

TIME PERIOD: February 1 ~ 29, 2016

1. U.S. – China Bilateral Relations: U.S. Acknowledges the Co-existence of Cooperation and Conflict in Relations with China ; China States it Does Not Seek to Subplant the U.S. or Current World Order

2. Economic Relations: U.S. Signs TPP with Other Member States and Continues Domestic Push for Ratification; China Shrugs Off Concerns Over Slowing Economic Growth and Argues Structural Reform is Progressing Well

3. Military and Security Relations: U.S. Focuses on Improving Cybersecurity and Preventing Spread of Nuclear Weapons; China Provides Updates on Peacekeeping Missions and Adjustments to Organization of Army Commands

4. Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues: U.S. Continues to Call for Release of Political Prisoners in China; China Seeks to Uphold UN Development Standards while Criticizing UNHCHR Report

5. Climate Change and Environmental Issues: Both Countries Seek to Continue Work on Stopping Climate Change

6. Asia Pacific Issues: U.S. Holds Summit with Leaders of ASEAN; China Also Touts Positive Relations with ASEAN, Grows Quiet on Japan

7. Korean Peninsula: U.S. and China Negotiate the Response to North Korea’s Nuclear Test; U.S. and South Korea Discuss Possibility of Deploying THAAD on the Korean Peninsula to which China Objects

8. Middle East and Africa Issues: U.S. Seeks End to Syrian Civil War to Focus on ISIL, Incinuates Russian War Crimes in Syria; China Lends Support to Syrian Peace Talks, Calls Africa the Foundation of its Foreign Policy

9. Sovereignty and Territorial Disputes: U.S. Continues Calls Claimants to Settle Disputes Safely and Urges China Not to Militarize South China Sea; China Criticizes U.S.-ASEAN Summit, Claims Actions in South China Sea Are in Accordance with International Law