English/Nat
XFA
United States President Bill Clinton signed into law on Tuesday a bill that permanently normalises trade relations with China and could yield billions of dollars in new sales for U-S farmers, manufacturers and service companies.
Labour, conservative groups and human rights campaigners had argued that an annual review had allowed the United States a chance each year to pressure China on human rights, trade practices and weapons exports.
It was a signing ceremony full of pomp and circumstance, in front of many member of Congress.
Just before signing the legislation on the White House South Lawn, President Clinton described it as a great day for the United States and a hopeful day for the 21st century world.
Clinton has argued that the more China opens its markets to U-S.products, the more fully it will unleash the potential of China citizens.
It is China's 1 billion residents that U-S business is eyeing.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I guess I ought to point out, our work is not over when I sign the bill. For China must complete its W-T-O accession negotiations and live up to the agreements it has negotiated with us and our partners before it can join. But when it happens, China will open its markets to American products from wheat to cars to consulting services, and our companies will be far more able to sell goods without moving factories or our investments there."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
President Clinton told the politicians that, in case they'd all have forgotten, "this thing was hard to pass".
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Beyond the economy however, America has a profound stake in what happens in China and how it chooses to relate to the rest of the world and whether it is open to the rest of the world, respectful of human rights, upholding the rule of law at home and in its dealings with other nations."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
The House approved the legislation normalising trade relations in May; the Senate passed it on September 19th.
The measure revises a law from the mid-1970s that subjected trade relations with communist states to annual reviews.
The legislation is an outgrowth of a U-S/Chinese agreement last fall under which China, as a condition for entering the World Trade Organisation, agreed to open its markets and reduce tariffs.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Let me be clear about one thing, while we are gathered here in celebrations of the end of the legislative process, in real terms this is just the beginning of our efforts to draw China more fully into the community of nations. I intend to do my part to provide the energy and oversight needed to ensure that the deal reached to China lives up to the expectations of this historic day."
SUPER CAPTION: Senator William Roth, (Republican, Delaware)
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said the benefits of having normal trade relations with China would extend beyond U-S and China.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Now China, and also Taiwan, will join the W-T-O as it would have done the I-T-O (W-T-O forerunner). Membership will be near to universal. The world will be a safer place or so we hope and so history argues."
SUPER CAPTION: Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, (Democrat, New York)
After it enters the W-T-O, China's tariffs on goods made in the U-S would drop from an overall average of 25 percent to 9 percent by 2005.
Negotiations at the W-T-O's Geneva headquarters, however, recently stalled after three weeks of discussions in which the Chinese negotiators appeared to be back pedalling on agreements made with the United States or other nations.
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