The U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) () was a high-level dialogue for the United States and China to discuss a wide range of regional and global strategic and economic issues between both countries. The establishment of the S&ED was announced on April 1, 2009, by U.S. President Barack Obama and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Jintao. The upgraded mechanism replaced the former Senior Dialogue and Strategic Economic Dialogue started under the George W. Bush administration. High-level representatives of both countries and their delegations met annually alternating between the two countries' capitals.Statement on Bilateral Meeting With President Hu of China . White House Press Office. April 1, 2009.U.S.–China Strategic Economic Dialogue . U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The S&ED was renamed the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue in June 2017. The Trump administration terminated the dialogue that year.
History The creation of the S&ED was announced on April 1, 2009, in London at the G-20 summit by President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao during their first meeting. The upgraded mechanism replaced the former Senior Dialogue and Strategic Economic Dialogue started under the George W. Bush administration. High-level representatives of both countries and their delegations meet annually at capitals alternating between the two countries. The first meeting was held in Washington, D.C. on July 27–28, 2009.
It has been suggested by analysts and media that the S&ED constitutes an important part of the G-2 relationship between the United States and China.'Europe Is Having to Justify Its Privileged Position'. Der Spiegel. July 27, 2009.China and US talk dollar: a Q&A. The Daily Telegraph. July 27, 2009.Neuman, Johanna (July 27, 2009). And then there were two: Obama meets the Chinese; transcript of president's speech. The Los Angeles Times.Spillius, Alex (July 27, 2009). Barack Obama: US and China will shape 21st century. The Daily Telegraph.
The administration of United States President Donald Trump renamed S&ED as the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue in June 2017. Trump's advisors Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, and Matt Pottinger advised against continuing the dialogue. According to David Shambaugh, China, in the opinion of the administration, viewed the discussions as fig leaves for it increase its national power. p. 369 One meeting occurred, and the Trump administration canceled the dialogue that year.
Purpose The S&ED attempted to address the challenges and opportunities that the United States and China face on a wide range of regional and global areas of immediate and long-term strategic and economic interests. Both President Barack Obama of the U.S. and Chinese leader Hu Jintao placed the S&ED at the center of the bilateral relationship and sought to deliver concrete, meaningful, and sustained progress over time on long-term strategic and economic objectives through the S&ED.Fact Sheet: U.S.‐China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The S&ED has allowed the Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of State to meet directly with their more powerful counterparts; China traditionally considers American cabinet secretaries equal to Chinese ministers, rather than the more senior state councilors and vice premiers.
Structure The S&ED was organized around a high-level, cross-cutting structure that addresses the geopolitical nature of mutual concerns in strategic and economic discussions. The S&ED provided a forum for ongoing and productive bilateral engagement between U.S. and Chinese officials with diverse responsibilities for both economic and strategic issues. The structure of the S&ED allowed for a plenary session to discuss issues of cross-cutting strategic and economic importance, while maintaining distinct strategic and economic tracks. Each respective track involved focused discussions on issues of mutual immediate and long-term strategic or economic interest. The S&ED will meet semi-annually to facilitate robust engagement and progress between dialogues through coordination with existing bilateral dialogues and working-level interactions.
Participants The S&ED brought together senior leadership representing the U.S. and Chinese governments. Special representatives were appointed by Presidents of both countries.
Special representatives Strategic Track United States Secretary of State: John Kerry State Councilor of the People's Republic of China: Dai Bingguo
Economic Track United States Secretary of the Treasury: Jack Lew Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China: Wang Qishan
First round meetings The meetings for the first round of the dialogue took place July 27–28, 2009 in Washington, D.C.U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue to be Held July 27-28, 2009 in Washington, D.C.. U.S. Department of State. July 13, 2009.
Vice Premier Wang Qishan held talks with Congressmen Rick Larsen and Mark Kirk, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Justin Yifu Lin, chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank, on July 26, 2009, prior to the S&ED.Wei, Wang (July 27, 2009). Co-op is key word for first China-U.S. S&ED: U.S. Congressman. Xinhua.Shasha, Deng (July 27, 2009). Chinese vice premier meets U.S. lawmakers on enhancing cooperation. Xinhua. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted a dinner on July 26, 2009, for Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.Kelly, Ian (July 27, 2009). Daily Press Briefing - July 27. U.S. Department of State. In an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal, Clinton and Timothy Geithner wrote about the U.S.–China relationship and the new S&ED. They added, "Simply put, few global problems can be solved by the U.S. or China alone. And few can be solved without the U.S. and China together", citing the "strength of the global economy, the health of the global environment, the stability of fragile states and the solution to nonproliferation challenges" as aspects that both countries have to cooperate on.Clinton, Hillary; Geithner, Timothy (July 27, 2009). A New Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China. The Wall Street Journal.
Hillary Clinton, Wang Qishan, Timothy Geithner, Dai Bingguo and President Obama addressed the opening ceremony of the first S&ED on July 27, 2009.Obama to address China-US economic talks. Agence France-Presse. July 21, 2009. Hu Jintao sent a congratulatory message read out by Wang. Obama said in his speech, "The relationship between the United States and China will shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world. That really must underpin our partnership. That is the responsibility that together we bear."Remarks by the President at the U.S./China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. White House. July 27, 2009. The opening ceremony of the first Dialogue was held in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.Washington events for July 27 - 31. MarketWatch. July 24, 2009.
The agenda included the global economic interest, North Korean nuclear weapons production and proliferation, climate change, and overseas development assistance. Chinese participants met with and were addressed by President Barack Obama and spent some time on Capitol Hill meeting with members.Freeman, Charles (July 17, 2009). The U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Center for Strategic and International Studies. They also met with Vice President Joe Biden.Chaggaris, Steve (July 28, 2009). Politics Today: Gates, Health Care and Sotomayor. CBS News. China brought more than 150 senior officials, including 28 minister-level officials and nearly its whole Cabinet, one of the largest and highest-level official Chinese delegations ever to come to the U.S.Preview of the first joint meeting of the U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue . United States embassy in Beijing. July 23, 2009. Chinese central banker Zhou Xiaochuan, Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren, the Chinese head of the banking regulatory commission, Liu Mingkang, and the head of securities regulatory commission, Shang Fulin, participated in the dialogue.Shear, David (July 27, 2009). Briefing on the U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. U.S. Department of State. China's Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya also participated.
A legion of prominent personages took part on the U.S. side. For example, for climate change, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, science adviser John Holdren, Carol Browner, Lisa Jackson from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others participated for the U.S. For the Chinese side, Vice-Minister Zhang Guobao of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spoke on energy issues and NDRC Vice-Minister Xie Zhenhua talked about the substantial steps that China is taking to limit CO2 emissions.
In an effort to reassure the Chinese about their investment, Obama rolled out top officials to meet with Chinese representatives including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers and Peter Orszag, Obama's budget director, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk among others.Crutsinger, Martin (July 27, 2009). Top US officials seek to reassure Chinese. Associated Press. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke briefed Chinese officials about how the U.S. plans to keep inflation in check over the next few years.China May Press Geithner on Dollar, Economy in Washington Talks. Bloomberg L.P. July 27, 2009. U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice also participated in the Dialogue.Clinton, Hillary (July 28, 2009). Strategic Track Discussion Session II. U.S. Department of State. The New York Times reported how 200 Chinese bankers, bureaucrats and policymakers scrutinized Obama's economic strategy and commented "how much the global financial crisis has changed the subtle balance of power in meetings of 'the G2'".Sanger, David (July 28, 2009). U.S. Budget Is Scrutinized by a Big Creditor. The New York Times.
The U.S. and China also announced a resumption of routine military contacts and high-level visits by defense officials when Admiral Timothy Keating met with his Chinese counterpart during the dialogue.Pessin, Al (July 28, 2009). . VOA News.
On July 29, Wang Qishan met with Ben Bernanke and exchanged views on bilateral issues and other issues of mutual concern. Dai Bingguo had breakfast with a group of U.S. senators including Senator John Kerry and Senator Richard Lugar on Capitol Hill.World to benefit from co-op between China, U.S.: Official. Xinhua. July 30, 2009.Chinese officials address dinner hosted by U.S. friendly organizations. Xinhua. July 30, 2009.
Highlights
Strategic Track The Strategic Track of the S&ED consists of four pillars: Bilateral relations (people-to-people exchanges); International security issues (nonproliferation, counterterrorism); Global issues (health, development, energy, global institutions); Regional security and stability issues (Afghanistan/Pakistan, Iran, DPRK). Climate change, clean energy, and the environment were also discussed in separate special sessions.
Key highlights from the Strategic Track include: Climate Change, Energy, and Environment MOU, North Korea, South Asia, Sudan, Counter-Terrorism, Non-proliferation, Military-to-Military Relations, Human Rights, Energy Security, and Global Issues.United States Department of State
Schedule
A schedule for the dialogue pertaining to the Strategic and Economic Track was arranged in advance and released by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of the Treasury respectively.Strategic and Economic Dialogue Press Schedule. U.S. Department of State. July 25, 2009.Strategic and Economic Dialogue Press Schedule. U.S. Department of the Treasury. July 24, 2009.
July 27 S&ED Family Photo S&ED Opening Ceremony Plenary Presentations of the S&ED