Nancy L. Johnson: “I rise in support of MFN for China. MFN simply provides China the same trade status possessed by other nations. There is…”

“I rise in support of MFN for China. MFN simply provides China the same trade status possessed by other nations. There is nothing most-favored or preferential about MFN status. MFN is the normal trading status. The United States must maintain a policy of engagement with China-- lest one day we find ourselves forced into a policy of containment. Whether and how we engage China today will have enormous consequences for United States national interests in the future. Denying normal trade relations would undermine U.S. economic interests for trade is crucial to the growth of our economy, good jobs for our people, and international prosperity. United States exports to China, growing at a rate of 20 percent a year, support 170,000 American jobs. Chinese retaliation would seriously threaten these jobs and United States companies expanding in China. Market economies naturally evolve into democracies. Entrepreneurship and invention, breed personal confidence, individualism, and the values that underlie democracy in the evolutionary process in Taiwan. China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world--with a population of 1.2 billion--and past growth rates in the double digits. Since establishing relations in 1979--trade between the United States and China has risen from $2 billion in 1978 to nearly $60 billion last year making China our 6th largest trading partner. Normal trade relations promote human rights.”