Barbara Kennelly: “There is no doubt we should have normal trade relations with China. It is very important to the future of the United…”

“There is no doubt we should have normal trade relations with China. It is very important to the future of the United States of America, and we come here today to vote on this issue again. The stakes are high. So often this is the case in important legislation. And the rhetoric is heated. And this also happens when people feel very strongly on a subject. But, for once, claims that this issue is critical to our future are fully justified. Understanding that this is a difficult vote for many Members of this body; it, in fact, is one of the most difficult votes that we cast on China. On the one hand there is the China of opportunity: vast, populous, an almost infinite market, with its growing production, and bustling economy. And on the other hand there is the China of reality, where democracy is not a reality, a place where 2,000 languish in labor camps, a place that welcomes an American President but arrests others who might be dissidents if they disagree. For me, the question is not whether to accept China as it is, it is how to best move China toward what we want in America, and I think the majority of the Chinese people would wish for, a place of additional hope and opportunity. For me, the best path is that of engagement, not retreat. Normal trade relations cannot make China a worse place for democracy than it already is.”