After signing the trade agreement in January this year, China and the United States apparently calmed down for some time. In the past few months, Sino-US relations have deteriorated sharply, and the new coronary pneumonia epidemic has added new fatal factors to the increasingly fierce competition.
Many hot issues are active this week, and observers will pay close attention to China's annual week-long National People's Congress. The meeting will begin on Friday, when Premier Li Keqiang and other senior officials will announce their plans on defense, diplomacy, and a range of other issues, including relations with the United States.
The following are the five main areas of conflict between the two countries:
--trading
The trade and economic relations agreement signed in January this year should have been the new beginning of the two countries. US President Donald Trump announced that "our relationship with China is the best ever." To implement the agreement, China lifted restrictions on the import of various U.S. agricultural products including beef and poultry, continued to open up the financial sector, and issued a guideline on intellectual property protection.
At the heart of the agreement is China ’s commitment to purchase more US goods and services, but even before the corona virus attack, analysts questioned whether these targets were realistic. Now, as China ’s demand and the manufacturing and transportation capacity of the United States decline due to the epidemic, and the prices of energy and other commodities fall, these commitments seem even more distant. China has fallen behind the need to achieve the 2020 target.
Trump ’s aide Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday that although China appeared to have complied with the trade agreement before the outbreak, the pandemic has restarted Sino-US relations, “current relations with China very nervous". If tensions intensify, failure to reach agreement terms may cause the agreement to collapse.
-Taiwan, Hong Kong, China
The long-term differences between the United States and China on the Taiwan issue have heated up in recent weeks. The two sides debated whether Taiwan could participate in the most recent World Health Organization meeting. China criticized US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo when he was inaugurated during the second term of Taiwanese President Tsai-Ing Wen The statement congratulated her on her approach. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense condemned Pompeo ’s actions this week as “wrong and very dangerous” and stated that the military will “take all necessary measures to firmly defend” China ’s sovereignty. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs alone threatened retaliation. This island is a province of China.
Earlier this month, Pompeo delayed the upcoming report on Hong Kong's autonomy.
--technology
In the past few years, the US government has repeatedly imposed sanctions on Chinese technology companies such as Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. (ZTE Corp.) for violating US sanctions. , Blacklist them, and accuse them of posing a threat to US security.
In the latest move, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Friday that it will require any foreign chip manufacturer that uses U.S. technology to obtain a license before selling products to companies including Huawei, including SenseTime Group Ltd. and Megvii technology Ltd. and other well-known Chinese technology companies.
In response, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce expressed its opposition to the new regulations and will take all necessary measures to safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. Huawei also warned that the latest restrictions will bring a "horrible price" to the global technology industry.
--Coronavirus
The two countries' accusations of responding to the new coronary pneumonia epidemic have become increasingly fierce. The latest attack is Trump's accusation against China. Earlier, in a letter to the World Health Organization on Monday, Trump accused WHO of having too close relations with China.
--Financial Relations
Although this trade agreement provides American companies with more opportunities to enter China, the United States is still seeking to strengthen control over the financial and economic relations between the two countries. Earlier this month, a U.S. official told Reuters that the United States is “turbocharging” to reduce its supply chain dependence on China.
This week the Senate passed an overwhelming advantage of legislation that may cause some Chinese companies to delist, and federal staff and retirement savings plans postponed investment in the Chinese stock market last week.