Taiwan

Air Space

Two Chinese SU-27 fighter jets briefly crossed the “middle line” over the Taiwan Strait while repelling a US spy plane, the first time since July 1999 that Chinese military aircraft have entered Taiwan’s side of the air space above the Strait.

Trade

China started proceedings at WTO in relation to the zeroing measure used by the US in slapping anti-dumping duties on diamond saw blades from China. China argued that the US measure not only violated specific zeroing regulations of the WTO, but also levied disproportionately high tariffs on the subject imports from China.

Trade

With the US sanctions against Iran, making it difficult for China to pay about US$30bn in hard currency for oil imports from Iran, Beijing and Tehran talked about using a barter system so that China could balance the trade by giving Iran what a former Iranian official called Chinese "junk" or goods that Iran might require.

Extradition

It took only about 11 years for the Canadian court finally to realise what many people have long figured out that Lai Changxing "is a common criminal fugitive from the Chinese justice system who has had full access to Canada's immigration processes over the last 11 years", as the Vancouver Federal Court decided to deport Lai to China, thanks largely to the “extraordinary assurances” given by China, including "access to a lawyer, permission of a Canadian official to be present at the hearing of the applicant, Canadian official access to recordings of interrogations and hearings, and permission for Canadian officials to visit the applicant in prison, mitigating risk of abuse".Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper commented that "both the Canadian people and the Chinese people don’t have a lot of time for white-collar fraudsters.” Canada just has had a bit more time time than China for Lai Changxing.

Territory - South China Sea

Treaty

The foreign minsters of China and the 10 ASEAN member states endorsed a set of guidelines on implementing the 2002 Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea (DOC), which a Chinese diplomat called "an important milestone document for cooperation between China and ASEAN countries". On its face, the document looks like a milestone in bland talk, but the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated the parties for “working so closely together" to bring it about. The guidelines envisage "the eventual realization of a Code of Conduct", but the meeting's chairman, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, admitted that "there is a lot of hard work ahead". Any hope that the guidelines would lead to the resolution of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea is also misplaced, as a Chinese diplomat pointed out that "[t]he disputing parties are not China and the ASEAN, so a document reached by the two sides cannot solve the disputes." In the wake of adoption of the guidelines, Chinese FM Yang Jiechi told Hilary Clinton that "it is important to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China" and that China is committed to maintaining freedom of navigation and security in the area. Yang alsoreiterated China's approach on resolving the territorial disputes, insisting that bilateral negotiations were the only way forward.

The Philippines was the lone country that expressed disappointment over the document, complaining that it did not address what she saw as the core issue of China's so-called "nine-dotted line". China did not appear to mind very much taking on the Philippines one-on-one, as the Chinese Government expressed "strong protest" over several Filipino lawmakers' landing on the Zhongye Island in the South China Sea.

Outer Space

Calling China "a "major space-faring country", a US defence official called for a regular dialogue with China on outer space to create "rules for the road" and reduce the risk of misunderstandings.

Territory - South China Sea

Law of the Sea - South China Sea

The officious bystanders now seem all too eager to enter the fray over the South China Sea as two senior US senators wrote to Dai Bingguo on the South China Sea, claiming that "[i]f appropriate steps are not taken to calm the situation, future incidents could escalate, jeopardising the vital national interests of the United States.” Meanwhile, a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman declared that "the issue of the South China Sea is a matter of common interest for the international community". Freedom of navigation has been invoked as the excuse for the US involvement, as China and the US continued to spar over the rights of foreign states in China's EEZ.

Trade

China won its first victory against the EU in WTO when the Appellate Body found several of EU's criteria for making anti-dumping claims invalid in a case on exports of fasteners.

Taiwan

Extradition

Following last year's repatriation by the Philippines of 14 Taiwanese criminal suspects to the mainland, Taipei and Manila were close to an agreement that would protect Taiwanese residents against being summarily deported to the mainland. Beijing has not opposed the arrangement.

Human Rights

The State Council Information Office issued an assessment report of China's implementation of her first human rights action plan, which declared that "[t]he fulfilment of all targets ... shows that the cause of human rights in China has entered a new stage." This might well be true if "all targets" and "a new stage" were understood to mean the harshest crackdown on dissent in years as many rights groups observed.

Trade

Defying an earlier WTO panel decision, China released new quota figures for exports of rare earth metals, which would almost double the export quota for the second half of the year.

Extradition

Lai Changxing, China's most wanted fugitive, was detained by the Canadian border security officers amid reports that he could soon be sent back to China. Canadian immigration authorities determined that he was not at risk of being tortured if returned to China after the Chinese Government pledged to allow Canadian officials to visit Lai regularly after his repatriation. The Canadian FM said Canada's justice system must be allowed to "fairly and independently take its course", which in this case means 12 years and counting.

Recognition

Diplomatic Relations

China accorded recognition and set up diplomatic relations with South Sudan and pledged to "develop friendly cooperation with South Sudan in various areas on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence", which, in real terms, means China wishes to work with the new country in its oil industry. South Sudan has three-quarters of the oil output of former Sudan which was China's 6th largest source of oil imports in 2010.

Treatment of Aliens

Hong Kong

Is there really so much to see in Hong Kong that you can be a tourist in Hong Kong forever? Although Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex relationships, partners of gay expatriates can stay in Hong Kong on a "de facto relationship visa", which treats them as permanent tourists without the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

Air Law

Territory - Diaoyu Islands

After Japan sent an air fighter to intercept two Chinese military aircraft spotted 60 kilometres from the Diaoyu Islands outside Japan's air space, an official from the Chinese Ministry of Defence said the Chinese aircraft had been operating in accordance with international law and called on Japan to "take effective measures to stop such dangerous activities".

Jurisdiction

Extradition

A senior Chinese prosecutor called on all states to ratify and implement the two UN Conventions against Corruption and Transnational Organized Crime, saying, "Anti-corruption is not simply the internal affairs of a single country, but an issue that requires attention and active responses of all countries and their anti-corruption agencies."

Trade

Environment

In a case brought by US, EU and Mexico, a WTO panel found that China violated WTO rules by imposing quotas, export duties and license requirements on certain industrial raw materials. Although the case does not involve rare earth minerals, the panel ruling could strengthen the hand of EU and US in their negotiation with China. China's WTO mission reacted by repeating its argument that the measures were for the purpose of protecting the environment and exhaustible natural resources (without explaining why, if the Chinese Government cares so much about the environment, the same restrictions do not apply to domestic production or consumption). China is expected to appeal against the panel report, and the Ministry of Commerce promulgated new export controls on raw materials in defiance of the panel decision.

Territory - South China Sea

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution that "deplores the use of force by naval and maritime security vessels from China in the South China Sea". A Chinese FM spokesman dismissed the resolution, saying that disputes over the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully through talks between "directly concerned parties".