WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Sept. 19, the United States Senate voted, by a margin of 85 to 15, to approve permanent normal trade relations with China. The U.S. House of Representatives had already given its approval in May, passing the
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Sept. 19, the United States Senate voted, by a margin of
85 to 15, to approve permanent normal trade relations with China. The U.S.
House of Representatives had already given its approval in May, passing the
measure by a vote of 237 to 197. This lopsided vote paves the way for China to
enter into the World Trade Organization.
President Bill Clinton pushed
Congress for approval, saying in April, “All I can tell you is, I believe
that if we do this, 20 years from now, we will wonder why we ever had a serious
debate about it. If we don’t do it, 20 years from now we’ll still be kicking
ourselves for being so dumb.”
He went further to say, “This vote
by Congress is on an agreement that lowers no American trade barriers, lowers
no American tariffs, grants no greater access to China to any part of the
American economy, nothing, zip, zilch, nada, zero. On the other hand, Chinese
tariffs will fall by more than half over five years in every
sector.”
Clinton has also been supported by the high-tech industry.
The chief executive officers of more than 200 high-tech companies signed a
letter urging Congress to approve permanent normal trade relations with China.
And some experts have even gone so far as to say that permanent normal trade
relations with China will reduce the military threat China could eventually
pose for the U.S.
But there is another view. While China’s current military
is nowhere near the level of the United States’, many experts are concerned
about that country’s long-term plans to build up its army, navy and air force.
There are those who worry that increased wealth resulting from freer trade with
nations like the U.S. will only help China achieve its goal of a more powerful
military force.
In March, China’s Minister of Finance, Qiang Huaicheng,
said his country’s defense budget rose 12.7 percent this year to modernize a
military that numbers 2.5 million members. The Chinese navy recently acquired a
Russian-built destroyer that has nuclear-capable missiles. And Defense Minister
Chi Haotian stated, “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is strengthening
its combat readiness to, at any time and under any conditions, carry out the
sacred mission of defending the unity of the motherland.”
Moreover,
many experts believe that defense spending may actually be two or three times
more than the publicized figure – and further, that weapons research and
purchase figures were not included.
Another problem that has worried some
people is China’s role in arming the rest of the world, particularly rogue
nations. U.S. Sens. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) and Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.)
proposed an amendment to the PNTR bill that would place sanctions on companies
and nations that dealt in weapons of mass destruction. Thompson mentioned a
recent CIA report that named China, Russia and North Korea as leading suppliers
of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons technology. It also revealed that
the Chinese supported Pakistan’s, Libya’s and Iran’s weapons programs.
Now
with the passing of the permanent normal trade relations, the U.S.-Chinese
military personnel exchange program will probably go ahead as planned, after
having been suspended following the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
last year by the U.S.
In the final analysis, the question is whether
trading with your enemies will make them more malleable or more powerful. In
the 1930s, we traded with Germany and Japan to our later regret. In the 1980s,
we traded with the Soviet Union to our benefit. It’s a gamble.
