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China Likely to Win Normal Trade Relations

May 2, 2000

Supporters of permanent normalized trade relations with Red China are increasingly optimistic that the momentum has shifted in their favor, according to an article in the May 2^nd Washington Post. The administration has been trying to win congressional support for granting China permanent normalized trade status as part of a deal that admits Red China to the World Trade Organization. To gain admission to the WTO, Red China agreed to open its markets and cut tariffs.

The House is expected to take up the measure late this month in what will likely be a close vote. However, after weeks of uncertainty over the level of Democratic support for the bill, the Clinton administration and its allies in the business community now expect to win enough Democratic votes to ensure a clear victory for permanent normal trade relations with Red China. A sizable majority of Republicans support the bill, and Senate passage is virtually assured.

The measure is supported by an unusual alliance consisting of business, agriculture, and Republicans teamed with the Administration. Opposition comes from organized labor and critics concerned about Red China's human rights violations and its expanding military. Many conservative Christian groups have also strongly opposed the administration's position as part of their efforts to elevate religious persecution to a top human rights priority.

If the bill is approved, it will end the need for annual renewal of China's trade status by Congress, an event that prompted heated debate over the country's human rights record and its threats against Taiwan. Every year Congress approved the trade status, even after the Tiananmen Square killings in 1989. But opponents say that by dropping the linkage between how China treats dissidents and its ability to trade with America, Congress will be giving up leverage over Beijing.

Proponents of permanent normalized trade relations remain nervous about what Red China might do. The new president of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian, will be inaugurated May 20, an opportunity for another rhetorical clash with Red China.

A congressionally mandated panel of religious and academic leaders said on May 1 that Red China should be denied permanent normal trade relations until it makes "substantial improvement" in allowing its people the freedom to worship. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, established in 1998 by an act of Congress, used its first annual report to accuse Red China, Sudan and Russia of hindering religious practices.

Red China and Sudan "are countries in which there are systematic, egregious, ongoing manifestations of religious persecutions," said Rabbi David Saperstein, chairman of the commission at a news conference. The group is required to report each year by May 1.

"We were convinced that for Congress to simply grant China [permanent normal trade relations] at this moment, with no significant improvement in the state of religious freedom, would be to send Beijing a signal that these awful, inexcusable, inhumane policies did not require a more immediate response," said Michael Young, dean of the George Washington University Law School and one of 10 co-authors of the report. "This we could not recommend."

Young told reporters that there has been a "serious deterioration in religious freedom during the past year in China." This went beyond harassment and arrests, he said. "We are talking about three-year labor-camp sentences without trial, about multiyear prison terms, about people--including women--beaten to death by police."

The commission's report says that normalized trade relations for Red China should be contingent upon progress in five areas. Red China must:

• Agree to high-level dialogue with the United States on religious freedom.
• Ratify the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.
• Permit access to Chinese religious leaders, including those imprisoned, detained or under house arrest.
• Answer questions about individuals detained for religious reasons or last seen in the custody of Chinese authorities.
• Release all those imprisoned for their faith.

In spite of the bipartisan effort to establish normal trade relations with Red China, Washington remains critical of Israel’s decision to sell an airborne radar surveillance system to China. Israel won the contract in 1998, in a competition that included British and French companies. The Israeli manufacturer, Israel Aircraft Industries, is receiving a reported $230 million to equip a Russian built aircraft with its airborne radar system. Red China wants to buy a total of five of the aircraft, which are similar to the American Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

Israeli officials say that if they back out of the deal, Peking will simply buy the airborne radars from Britain or France. Besides, American officials are being a little hypocritical when they ask Israel to curb its arms sales to Beijing. The U.S. is a leading participant in the worldwide arms bazaar.

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