Joe Biden: “I want to explain why I voted against the amendment offered by the Senator from Arkansas, [Mr. Hutchinson] calling for a…”

“I want to explain why I voted against the amendment offered by the Senator from Arkansas, [Mr. Hutchinson] calling for a revocation of China's most-favored-nation trading status. Revoking China's nondiscriminatory trading status is not a silver bullet we can fire to address our many legitimate concerns with China. MFN is ill-suited to carry single-handedly the burdens of our complex and multifaceted relationship. Yet, simply extending China's most-favored-nation status does little to advance our interests with China. Moreover, it does nothing to address those areas where China's conduct is inconsistent with international norms or in violation of their bilateral commitments. In short Mr. President, engagement with China is not a policy, it is just a means to an end. It is the content of the engagement that matters. In the area of nonproliferation, for all of our engagement, China's conduct clearly remains unacceptable. Just last May, the State Department belatedly imposed sanctions on two key Chinese chemical firms--Nanjing Chemical Industries Group and Jiangsu Yongli Chemical Engineering and Technology Import Export Corp.--that knowingly and materially contributed to Iran's chemical weapons program. If this case were the lone exception, it would still be troubling. Unfortunately, it appears to be the norm.”