THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release March 8, 2000



The U.S.-China WTO Agreement Will Help Promote
Reform, Accountability, and Openness in China

China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will help promote reform, accountability, and openness in China. Voting to enact permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) with China is the most significant immediate action we can take to move China in the right direction.

China's accession agreement will deepen and help to lock in market reforms -- and empower those in China's leadership who want their country to move further and faster toward economic freedom. In opening China's telecommunications market, including to Internet and satellite services, the agreement will expose the Chinese people to information, ideas, and debate from around the world. And China's accession to the WTO will help strengthen the rule of law in China and increase the likelihood that it will play by global rules. Many human rights activists and members of the foreign policy community agree that bringing China into the WTO will help move China in the right direction:

DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

FOREIGN POLICY COMMUNITY

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