The Year in U.S.-China Relations 2016: "It's Not Dark Yet..."

2016 seemed to intensify many of the long-standing challenges facing the U.S.-China relationship: the South China Sea disputes reached a crescendo when the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague rejected China’s claims; North Korea defied the international community with its fourth and fifth nuclear tests; politics in Hong Kong and Taiwan entered new and uncertain phases; and it became clear, again, that the U.S. and China are involved in and ideological competition that underlies their strategic and economic disputes. 2016 also saw rising American concerns over Chinese investments and a continued crackdown on western cultural influence by President Xi Jinping. Mistrust grew on all of these fronts, even as Beijing and Washington improve military-to-military communications and publicly found ways to cooperate on issues such as climate change and cyber theft. Finally, the election of Donald Trump and his potential appointments and statements heightened the sense of uncertainty on both sides of the Pacific.