Political Quotes

“Tomorrow morning the President will most probably put forward his position on whether or not China should be granted most-favored-nation status. I would like to take this opportunity to say why I believe the trading status should be extended. For 15 years, I have traveled to China. In 1979, as mayor of San Francisco, I started America's first sister city relationship with a Chinese city. That was the one between my city and Shanghai, one of China's largest and most entrepreneurial cities. Jiang Zemin, once mayor of Shanghai, now President of China, and I negotiated several agreements in the areas of trade, medicine, business, and culture which produced many opportunities, economic and otherwise, for both cities. The relationship between the two cities was the most active sister-city relationship in the world during the 1980's. Since Jiang Zemin became President of China, I have had an opportunity to discuss human rights and trade issues directly with him in two face-to-face meetings in 1991 and 1993, each lasting several hours. When I first went to China in 1979, it was not possible to discuss human rights, politics, or virtually any controversial subject.”