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5 pt1 Department of State Dispatch 345 (1994)
U.S. Renews Most-Favaored-Nation Trade Status for China

handle is hein.journals/dsptch11 and id is 399 raw text is: China U.S. Renews Most-Favored-Nation Trade Status for China President Clinton, Summary of Secretary's Report President Clinton Opening statement at a news confer- ence, Washington, DC, May 26, 1994. Today I would like to announce a series of important decisions regarding U.S. policy toward China. Our relation- ship with China is important to all Americans. We have significant interests in what happens there and what happens between us. China has an atomic arsenal and a vote and a veto in the UN Security Council. It is a major factor in Asian and global security. We share important inter ests, such as in a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and in sustaining the global environment. China is also the world's fastest-growing economy. Over $8 billion of U.S. exports to China last year supported over 150,000 American jobs. I have received Secretary Christopher's letter recommending, as required by last year's executive order, reporting to me on the conditions in that executive order. He has reached a conclusion with which I agree: The Chinese did not achieve overall signifi- cant progress in all the areas outlined in the executive order relating to human rights, even though, clearly there was progress made in important areas, including the resolution of all emigration cases, the establishment of a memorandum of understanding with regard to how prison labor issues would be resolved, the adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other issues. Neverthe- less, serious human rights abuses continue in China, including the arrest and detention of those who peacefully voice their opinions and the repression of Tibet's religious and cultural traditions. The question for us now is, given the fact that there has been some progress but that not all the require- U.S. Department of State Dispatch May 30, ments of the executive order were met, how can we best advance the cause of human rights and the other profound interests the United States has in its relationship with China I have decided that the United States should renew most-favored- nation trading status toward China. This decision, I believe, offers us the best opportunity to lay the basis for long-term sustainable progress in human rights and for the advancement of our other interests with China. Extending MFN will avoid isolating China and, instead, will permit us to engage the Chinese with not only economic contacts but with cultural, educational, and other contacts, and with a continuing aggressive effort in human rights--an approach that I believe will make it more likely that China will play a responsible role, both at home and abroad. I am moving, therefore, to delink human rights from the annual exten- sion of most-favored-nation trading status for China That linkage has been constructive during the past year. But I believe, based on our aggressive contacts with the Chinese in the past several months, that we have reached the end of the usefulness of that policy and it is time to take a new path toward the achievement of our constant objectives. We need to place our relationship into a larger and more productive framework. In view of the continuing human rights abuses, I am extending the sanctions imposed by the United States as a result of the events in Tiananmen Square, and I am also banning the import of munitions, principally guns and ammunition, from China. I am also pursuing a new and vigorous American program to support those in China working to advance the cause of human rights and democracy. This program will include increased broadcasts for Radio Free Asia and the Voice of America, increased support for non-governmental organizations working on human rights in China, and the development with American business leaders of a voluntary set of principles for business activity in China I don't want to be misunder- stood about this: China continues to commit very serious human rights abuses. Even as we engage the Chinese on military political, and economic issues, we intend to stay engaged with those in China who suffer from human rights abuses. The United States must remain a champion of their liberties. I believe the question, therefore, is not whether we continue to support human rights in China, but how we can best support human rights in China and advance our other very significant issues and interests. I believe we can do it by engaging the Chinese. I believe the course I have chosen gives us the best chance of success on all fronts. We will have more contacts. We will have more trade. We will have more international cooperation. We will have more intense and constant dialogue on human rights issues. We will have that in an atmosphere which gives us the chance to see China evolve as a responsible power, ever-growing not only economically but growing in political maturity so that human rights can be observed. To those who argue that in view of China's human rights abuses we should revoke MFN status, let me ask you the same question that I have asked myself over and over these last few weeks as I have studied this issue and consulted people of both parties who have had experience with China over many decades. Will we do more to advance the cause of human rights if China is isolated or if our nations are engaged in a growing web of political and economic cooperation and contacts? I am persuaded that the best path for advancing freedom in China is for the United States to intensify and broaden its engagement with that nation. I think we have to see our relations with China within the broader context of our policies in the Asia-Pacific region, a region that, after all, includes our own nation. This week, we've seen 1994 Vol. 5, No. 22 345

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