Diplomatic Protection

A Chinese vice foreign minister said that Chinese citizens have increasingly become targets of foreign criminals and terrorists. But he also pointed out that a growing number of cases resulted from Chinese nationals' "ignorance of foreign legal systems or cultures".

Trade

China lodged a last-minute appeal to the WTO Appellate Body against against a panel ruling issued in August 2009 on the US complaints on China's regulations on the import and distribution of books and audio-visual products. The panel had dismissed China's argument on the need to "protect" its citizens and children from pornography and other vices, saying China's measures were more restrictive than they needed to be to attain its objectives.

Law of the Sea
Taiwan

Taiwan sent coastguard vessels to a disputed area of the East China Sea in response to the Japanese arrest of a Taiwanese skipper for allegedly illegal fishing in Japan's EEZ. Later, Taiwan protested to Japan for the way it handled the Taiwanese boat.

Trade
Dispute Settlement

China requested formal consultations at WTO over the US tariffs on tire imports from China. Whether the case will work out in favour of China is unclear, as the special safeguards measure was included as part of the price for China joining the WTO in 2001.

Trade

Citing a special safeguard provision and reversing previous policies, US President Obama announced that the US would impose a 35 percent tariff on automobile and light-truck tires imported from China, because Chinese imports were "disrupting" the tire market. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce denounced the decision, calling it violation of the WTO rule and America's "relevant commitments made on the G-20 financial summit". US officials said they were merely invoking tools that the US explicitly negotiated with China as part of her acceptance into the WTO. Later, the Chinese Government announced that it would start subsidies and anti-dumping investigations on American exports of automotive products and chicken meat.

Diplomatic Protection

The government-run "technical internship" programme in Japan is supposed to provide educational opportunities to people from developing countries and involves about 200,000 foreign trainees, 70% of whom come from China. A lawyers' group said the programme is corrupted into a form of slave labour,

Taiwan
United Nations

For the first time in 17 years, Taiwan will not make a bid to join the United Nations. Taiwan is recognised by only 23 states and failed in the previous 16 attempts due to China's opposition.

Territory

Two American journalists detained by DPRK for over four months said they crossed into North Korea but were “firmly back inside China" when North Korean border guards chased and apprehended them, then “violently dragged” them back into North Korea. A Chinese FM spokeswoman denied the veracity of the reporters' account, however.

Trade
Dispute Settlement

Complying for the first time with a WTO decision against China, the Chinese Government announced that it would reduce tax on imported auto parts. Along the four-year process of negotiations leading up to the decision of compliance, China may have lost the battle but won the war, as foreign automakers have been moving auto production to China on a large scale, and the Chinese announcement would have "virtually no impact" on them.