Mike Levin: “Most likely, this is not the last time we are going to be debating our relationship, including our trade relationship…”

“Most likely, this is not the last time we are going to be debating our relationship, including our trade relationship, with China. They were going to go into the WTO with or without U.S. support. So what we did last year was to decide we needed to both engage and pressure China. The assumption was that trade is the important part of engagement, but it is not a magic path. It will not automatically, even over time, bring about democracy. So, in part, we responded by setting up a commission. It will be in operation soon at an executive congressional level. It is charged with submitting to the Congress and the President an annual report with the committee of jurisdiction required to hold hearings, and it is assumed that they will, it says, with a view of reporting to the House appropriate legislation in furtherance of the commission's recommendations. This has been a useful debate. We need to keep the light and the heat on this issue, and we intend to do just that.”