09 May 2000
Text: Three Former U.S. Presidents Advocate PNTR for China
(China WTO membership/PNTR will serve U.S. national interest) (770) In a letter to the American people dated May 8, three former Presidents of the United States advocated Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status for China. The letter, signed by former Presidents George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, states: "the agreement to bring China into the WTO represents a turning point in our relationship with that profoundly important country and in its future development. We urge the Congress to embrace this agreement and to bring its benefits home by voting for PNTR." Following is the text of the letter: (begin text) May 8, 2000 Dear Fellow Citizens, Over the years, we have joined many debates of great consequence to the American people, sometimes on the same side, sometimes on opposing sides. On the issue of embracing China's membership in the World Trade Organization and granting it permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status, however, we are united. There is no doubt that China's World Trade Organization (WTO) membership and PNTR will serve our national interest. The exact contours of America's policy toward China have changed with the times, but the fundamental purpose of our policy has not. America has an enduring national interest in the emergence of a China that contributes to the stability of Asia, that is open to the world, that upholds the rule of law both within and beyond its borders. Each of us worked to advance that interest; each of us sought the support of the American people and of Republicans and Democrats in the Congress toward that end. We do so again today in urging the Congress to approve PNTR. To earn the support of the American people, our engagement with China must advance specific goals: global non-proliferation, stability in the Taiwan strait and the region, the safety of our allies, the prosperity of our nation and, the creation of new job opportunities, the health of our environment, and the universal values of human rights and freedom. In the current debate, we do not believe these goals are in conflict. Each is advanced by bringing China into the WTO on the terms America has negotiated. Each is advanced by granting China PNTR. In economic terms, the case is clear. The agreement to bring China into the WTO is the product of more than thirteen years of tough negotiations conducted by four Administrations, Democratic and Republican. It builds upon a series of market opening initiatives pursued by every President since the Second World War. It will open China's markets to us without increasing China's access to our market. But America can only reap the benefits of this agreement if Congress approves PNTR. A failure to do so would cost America jobs and squander the best opportunity we have had in a generation to address our long-standing concerns about China's trading practices. The national security interest also is compelling. Enactment of PNTR will reduce the volatility and improve the atmosphere of U.S.-China relations, strengthen our ability to move China in the right direction, and increase China's stake in stability and prosperity in the region and beyond. It will strengthen the hand of Chinese leaders who have worked to improve relations with the United States. It will reassure our friends and allies in Asia, every one of whom supports our granting China PNTR. It will increase China's interdependence with the world. It will make positive change within China more likely, by opening doors to the information revolution and accelerating reforms that are dismantling many state controls over the economy and society. A vote against PNTR will make it far more difficult to attain these critical goals. It would be read in China as a vote for confrontation and as an argument for hunkering down, instead of continuing to reach out. It would encourage deeper tensions between Beijing and Taiwan and diminish our ability to work for Asian stability. Our friends and allies would wonder why, after decades of promoting regional security and seeking to open China to the world, we squandered the opportunity to advance both goals now. For all these reasons, the agreement to bring China into the WTO represents a turning point in our relationship with that profoundly important country and in its future development. We urge the Congress to embrace this agreement and to bring its benefits home by voting for PNTR. (signed) Gerald R. Ford Jimmy Carter George Bush (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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