U.S.-China tensions escalate
  
Feb 2017: Newly-elected President Donald Trump agrees to honour U.S. One China policy towards Taiwan

Nov: Trump administration scraps Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade – forum for high-level talks with China

Aug 2018: Trade war escalates with tariffs hiked from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports

May 2019: Trump threatens to impose punitive tariffs on all imports from China

Aug: U.S. designates China as a “currency manipulator.” Trump says he will raise tariffs from 25% to 30% on $250bn of Chinese imports from October

May 2020: Trump blames China for spread of Covid-19 as pandemic claims more than 100,000 American lives

Jul: U.S. orders Chinese consulate in Houston closed – citing IP theft. China
responds in kind

Aug: U.S. slaps sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials over Beijing’s draconian security law in Asian financial hub. Pentagon claims 11 more Chinese firms are owned or controlled by PLA

Apr 2017: Trump hails “tremendous progress” in U.S.-China talks when he hosts China’s President Xi Jinping at his estate in Florida

Mar 2018: Tariffs on Chinese imports announced in retaliation for China’s alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property (IP)

Oct: Comprehensive Economic Dialogue programme with China abandoned. Vice President Mike Pence condemns Beijing for “economic aggression,” and theft of IP

Oct 2019: Trump announces Phase One U.S.-China trade deal – ditches tariff hike

Jun 2020: Trump signs bill imposing sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights abuses to China’s Muslims. Pentagon claims 20 Chinese companies operating in U.S. are controlled by People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

Sep: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Chinese Confucius Institute cultural centres in U.S. are recruiting “spies and collaborators”


2017
2018
2019
2020


Sources: The Diplomat, Foreign Affairs 
Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images 
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