U.S.-China Joint Cabinet Crisis CNSC Chinese Central National Security Commission UHSMUN VII
Head Chair: Jason Lao Vice Chair: Isha Sharma Hello delegates! My name is Jason and I will be your Head Chair for this committee. I am currently a senior and have done MUN for all four years of high school, and currently, I am the club s Publicity and Technology director. Outside of MUN, I am an Executive Producer of my school s video broadcast, Univision, and I participate in many other clubs on campus. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games (especially Overwatch), listening to music, and watching movies. I m thrilled to be your Head Chair and look forward to seeing some high-level debate. If you have any questions or concerns, don t hesitate to let me know! - Jason Lao, Head Chair Hey everyone! My name is Isha and I will be your Vice Chair. I m currently a sophomore and I ve been doing MUN since my freshman year. MUN has been a great experience for me and has taught me skills that I can use not only in conferences, but also outside of the club. In my free time, I love watching crime shows and listening to music. I m really excited to work with all of the delegates and I hope that this will be a memorable experience for all of you!! Feel free to contact with me any questions, concerns, or problems that you might have. - Isha Sharma, Vice Chair
What is a Crisis Committee? A crisis committee is a small body brought together to respond to an issue. There are no set regulations of how to respond to this issue, giving delegates freedom and allowing for multiple actions to be taken at once. A delegate may write notes to crisis or to other delegates to undermine committee procedures by using their personal powers, or work with the committee to write committee directives and press releases. Much of the committee revolves around unmoderated and moderated caucus with no speakers list. All actions within committee will be taken through three types of actions: directives, communiques, and press releases. Directives are actions that delegates personally take or the committee takes. Personal directives revolve around what the individual character has the power to do. Committee directives are done based on the entire committee but must be voted on. Communiques are direct messages to outside characters or other delegates that are in another room. Press releases, are pieces of information, news, or messages that are given out to the public.
Background Territorial Disputes The South China Sea is an area in the Pacific Ocean that is located near many Asian countries such as Vietnam, China, and the Philippines. The region is very valuable for trading, with $5 trillion in annual global trade, and contains many Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) that countries utilize for fishing, drilling, and other economic activities. Due to its importance in the economic sector for many countries, the South China Sea has been a highly disputed area since China claimed it as theirs in 1947. Recent disagreements began in 2011 when the Philippines summoned a Chinese convoy after reporting incursions by Chinese ships near the Spratly Islands, which were under the control of the Philippines. This led to the US becoming involved, indicating an alliance between the two nations and negotiations for a trade agreement. Other countries such as Vietnam and Japan are also unwilling to give up their claims as well as a result of the importance of the area. Trade and Economic Warfare The United States and China have a powerful economic relationship. The US is China s leading trade partner and China is the US s second-largest trading partner. Both countries have had strong ties in the Security Council as Big 5 member states and have worked together on global issues as well. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in 2014, President Barack Obama of the USA and President Xi Jinping of China issued a joint statement on climate change, agreeing to reduce
carbon emissions. This led to global cooperation with other countries at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris and the signing of the climate change convention which works to curb the environmental impact of all countries. Cyber Warfare Although the US and China have been partners for many years, tensions exist between them regarding trade activities, intelligence advancement, etc. Recently, tensions started escalating between the US and China in May of 2015 at the fourteenth annual Shangri-La Dialogue on Asian security. At the time, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter requested that China discontinue land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea since it was a disputed territory and as a result of US Naval Intelligence discovering China s plans to place military equipment on artificial islands in the area. This proclamation along with current US President Donald Trump s constant criticism of China has led to concerns by the Chinese government of weakening relations between the countries. Committee Goals As the People s Republic of China, your main goal is to expand your economic and political influences while containing the influences of the United States. While the United States is currently the world s largest economy, China is a close second and one important goal would be to eventually surpass the United States in terms of economic power. China s economic policies will be up to the committee to
decide, but may be forced to change due to crises or actions of the US Cabinet. As a large exporter of rare earth metals and manufactured goods to other nations including the United States, China must take advantage of this to leverage influence on others. China s foreign policy will also be especially important. Winning over key allies within the international community is a crucial step to increasing your political influence abroad. While the United States has numerous allies around the globe, as well as NATO, China should look to expand their list of political and military allies besides Russia and North Korea, the latter of which may serve less of an asset and more as a liability. China most also work to preserve their territory in the South China Sea without compromise with the other parties involved in the dispute. China must find ways to nullify US intervention in this area peacefully and diplomatically, though other more hostile measures could be taken if necessary. Possible Solutions: One solution would be to continue the building of islands and infrastructure in the South China Sea. Doing so may help to assert Chinese dominance and allow China access to the rich oil and gas reserves in the area. The United States has about 1.2 trillion dollars in bilateral trade go through the South China Sea every year as well. However, this must be done carefully and diplomatically with other nations currently within the South China Sea dispute, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and
Taiwan. Too much aggression may alienate potential allies and cause them to turn to the United States for support. Another solution would be to impede US economic growth by engaging in trade deals that exclude US involvement. Under the Obama administration, the United States was engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation regional trade deal part of the United States pivot to Asia. The TPP was a clear attempt to undermine China s growing economic power while bolstering US influence in Asia. However, President Trump has said that he will quit the TPP on his first day in office in an attempt to put America first. This may give China an opportunity to engage in regional trade deals similar to the TPP that excludes the United States. Doing so may prove to be very beneficial to growing China s economic power within Asia while hurting United States involvement within the region. China may also consider looking towards its close relations to certain African countries for additional economic support against the United States. China can also utilize its resources in espionage and cyberwarfare, which may help China gain the upper hand by alerting them to US actions before they can be carried out. Chinese intelligence agencies can map critical computer networks and can utilize ransomware, both of which may provide useful information during a future conflict or crisis. In addition, the use of surrogate hackers makes it harder for the United States to trace cyber-attacks to their countries of origin. Cyber-attacks may also serve as a diversion of US resources and attention in order for China to focus on more pressing matters. Declaring war should be avoided at all costs.
Positions 1. Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council 2. Jiang Daming, Minister of Land and Resources 3. Chang Wanquan, Minister of National Defense 4. Chen Wenqing, Minister of State Security 5. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs 6. Fan Changlong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission 7. Gao Jin, Commander of the People s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force 8. Miao Wei, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology 9. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice 10. Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People s Bank of China 11. Gao Hucheng, Minister of Commerce 12. Xiao Jie, Minister of Finance 13. Liu He, Economic Advisor 14. Cui Tiankai, Ambassador to the United States 15. Liu Jieyi, Ambassador to the United Nations 16. Sun Zhenyu, Ambassador to the World Trade Organization Questions to Consider 1. Considering that the US and China have two of the largest economies in the world, what negotiations can be made in order to ensure that their economies remain intact?
2. What actions should China take in terms of their alliance with the unstable North Korea? 3. Given Russia s growing relationship with the United States due to Trump and Putin s friendship, what could China do to win Russia back? Works Cited 1. Bender, Jeremy. "Why Beijing Won't Give Up the South China Sea." Business Insider. Business Insider, 12 July 2016. Web. 07 Jan. 2017. 2. Council on Foreign Relations. "China's Maritime Disputes." Council on Foreign Relations. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2017. 3. "Courting Trouble." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 16 July 2016. Web. 07 Jan. 2017. 4. Gracie, Carrie. "US Leaving TPP: A Great News Day for China." BBC News. BBC, 22 Nov. 2016. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. <http://www.bbc.com/news/worldasia-china-38060980>. 5. Sherlick, Jeremy, Carin Zissis, Christopher Alessi, and Eleanor Albert. "U.S. Relations with China (1949 - Present)." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. 6. Watkins, Derek. "What China Has Been Building in the South China Sea." New York Times. New York Times, 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/30/world/asia/what-china-hasbeen-building-in-the-south-china-sea-2016.html?_r=0>.