1 – 15 Apr 2017

USA

A major highlight of the fortnight was the visit of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping to the Unites States where President Donald J. Trump hosted him and Madam Peng Liyuan at his private resort, the Mar-a-Lago on April 6 and 7. According to both Chinese and American sources, the two leaders had positive and productive meetings. President Trump and President Xi agreed to work in concert to expand areas of cooperation while managing differences based on mutual respect. The two presidents reviewed the state of the bilateral relationship and noted the importance of working together to generate positive outcomes that would benefit the people of both countries.

President Trump noted the challenges caused by Chinese government intervention in its economy and raised serious concerns about the impact of China's industrial, agricultural, technology, and cyber policies on United States jobs and exports. The President underscored the need for China to take concrete steps to level the playing field for American workers, stressing repeatedly the need for reciprocal market access. The two sides drew attention to the urgency of the threat of North Korea's weapons programs, reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean peninsula‎, and committed to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions. They agreed to increase cooperation and work with the international community to convince North Korea to peacefully resolve the issue and dismantle its illegal nuclear and missile programs. Both leaders had a candid discussion on regional and maritime security. President Trump noted the importance of adhering to international rules and norms in the East and South China Seas and to previous statements on non-militarization. He also noted the importance of protecting human rights and other values deeply held by Americans.

The two presidents agreed to elevate existing bilateral talks to reflect the importance of making progress on issues. They established a new and cabinet-level framework for negotiations. The United States-China Comprehensive Dialogue will be overseen by the two presidents and have four pillars: the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue; the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue; the Law Enforcement and Cyber security Dialogue; and the Social and Cultural Issues Dialogue. The two sides agreed to undertake an ambitious agenda and meeting schedule to show progress and demonstrate meaningful results.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping set out to visit U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida, officials from both countries were wary about the nature of the meeting and the vibes between both leaders as during his campaign for Presidency, had accused China of economically exploiting the United States. As president-elect, he also suggested that his administration would call into question the United States’ “one China” policy toward Taiwan—a long-standing pillar of the relationship between Beijing and Washington. (Trump later reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the policy at Xi’s request.) And just before the summit, Trump remained critical of Beijing, writing on Twitter that he expected a “very difficult” meeting and telling reporters en route to Florida that China had treated the United States “unfairly.”

Considering this backdrop, the first US–Chinese presidential meeting of the Trump administration went remarkably smoothly. There were no major blunders in protocol, and Trump even mustered some self-effacing humor, saying that he’d “gotten nothing, absolutely nothing” out of Xi at a dinner early in their talks. The friendly atmosphere and lack of speed bumps, however, doesn’t mean that the meeting produced major progress. Thanks in part to the Trump administration’s lack of preparation, the summit accomplished little aside from allowing the two leaders and their teams to get acquainted. Although the meeting did produce three notable outcomes—related to trade, the structure of bilateral diplomacy, and North Korea—those results did little to move bilateral ties forward and may have entrenched distrust between the two sides over North Korea.

US-Russia

US President Donald Trump ordered cruise-missile strikes on an airbase in Syria after his administration accused Russia of trying to cover up Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s role in the chemical-weapons attack on Syrian civilians. Russia contends the chemicals belonged to terrorists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the US not to repeat the airstrikes, which he said were part of efforts to oust Assad and that was not acceptable. Lavrov said a chemical-weapons attack in Syria that provoked U.S. missile strikes on the Middle Eastern country may have been orchestrated. “There’s growing evidence that this was staged,” Lavrov said at a Moscow news conference with his Iranian and Syrian counterparts on Friday. Publications including in the U.S. and the U.K. have highlighted “many inconsistencies” in the version of events in Syria’s Idlib province that was used to justify the American airstrikes, he said. The crisis dominated Moscow talks between U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as the Kremlin rebuffed demands to abandon its ally Assad. Putin’s military backing of Assad has been crucial in keeping the regime in power after six years of civil war.

The relationship between America and Russia has suffered a “significant blow” because of Donald Trump’s decision to launch a missile strike against Syria, Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned.His comments came as it was revealed Trump administration officials were investigating whether Russia played a part in this week’s deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria. US military officials said they were looking at whether a drone that was seen hovering over the site of the chemical weapons attack belonged to Russia or Syria. If it was found to belong to Russia — and if Russia had knowledge of, or involvement in the attack — it would plunge US-Russian relations to a low not seen since the Cold War.

The US launched 59 cruise missiles on the Shayrat airbase in Syria yesterday after the Syrian air force carried out a chemical weapons attack in northern Syria which killed at least 80 people including many children. Russia hit back at the US, describing the missile strike as an act of aggression and suspending an agreement to minimize the risk of in-flight incidents between US and Russian aircraft operating over Syria. “President Putin considers the American strikes against Syria an act of aggression against a sovereign government in violations of the norms of international law, and under a far-fetched pretext,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “This step by Washington is causing significant damage to Russian-American relations, which are already in a deplorable state. Russia also attacked the US in a special session of the UN Security Council, saying the ‘illegitimate action’ by the US would encourage terrorism. “The consequences of this for regional and international stability could be extremely serious,” Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov said.”

US president Trump said the attack was in America’s vital national security interest because it would help to deter the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime. The missile strike makes it unlikely that the US and its allies will allow Assad to be involved in any political solution in Syria. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US would lead an international push to remove Assad from power.