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Re-evaluating the Failed Experiment of Engagement with China

Congressman Bob Barr, April 23, 2001

During last year’s debate over Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), supporters of PNTR told the American people that active engagement, a partnership for the future, was in the best interests of the United States. We were told it would promote democratization, improve human rights, promote free enterprise, and most importantly for our national interests, make the PRC less threatening to our country and our interests in the region. Reading the papers last year and this year, this week particularly, I see nothing to support these statements.

Communist China was, and still is, the world’s worst human rights abuser. It is a Communist dictatorship. Their leadership still claims to their own Communist Congress in Beijing that the United States is the enemy and that they will ultimately destroy us. They stole our own technology to help develop weaponry that could accomplish this goal. Yet, in spite of extensive human rights violations, forced abortions, massive espionage activities in our own country, and threats against our allies, many felt the need to cow-tow to this regime and vote for PNTR.

I deeply opposed PNTR when it was passed ten months ago, and I continue to oppose it. In fact, in light of the outrageously illegal detainment of 24 American service men and women, the detainment of an American family in February, and the detainment of a second American scholar in March, I firmly believe PNTR should be repealed, and repealed immediately. I am an original co-sponsor of legislation currently before Congress that would do just that and I am going to work hard for its passage.

Instead of civilizing the Communist Chinese regime, our engagement with that government has corrupted our democracy. Instead of providing us with wealth and others with freedom, it has undercut our domestic production, transferred our technology to our adversaries, and emboldened this regime to commit even more egregious violations of the most basic of human rights. Instead of promoting peace, it has massively expanded the raw destructive power of a Communist government that not only threatens our allies, but seriously threatens our own citizens.

It is clear with a new Administration, and the most recent violations of international law, our relationship with China needs to be closely evaluated.

We must never forget that the real reason for the Chinese Communists' bad human rights record, for their continued military buildup, and their unrelenting repression of Christians, Muslims and Buddhist religious believers is the vile nature of their political system. There is no way to reform such a system. The only solution is to end it.

China is an emerging power with clear national and international goals that will bring it into conflict with U.S. national security interests. The United States must embrace a foreign and defense policy that recognizes the Chinese threat and takes action to stop dangerous technology transfers either directly to China or through allies like Israel. The federal government should defend democratic Taiwan from prospective Chinese aggression. Most importantly though, we must send a clear and immediate signal to this Communist regime that the era of fanciful engagement is over. It is time to repeal Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Communist China.