How Gitmo Affects U.S.-China Ties

Relations between China and the United States are so complex and intertwined that even American policies that stem from purely domestic issues may impact on Sino-American relations. One example is President Barack Obama's order, issued two days after he assumed office, to shut down detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay.

Whether to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was very much a policy debate in the United States. The Bush administration moved prisoners captured in Afghanistan into Guantanamo and asserted that these detainees, who were classified as “enemy combatants,” were not entitled to any of the protections offered by the Geneva Conventions.