Rich Neal: “I stand her today to voice my opposition to the disapproval resolution for MFN. Once again, the House is going through…”

“I stand her today to voice my opposition to the disapproval resolution for MFN. Once again, the House is going through it annual summer ritual of debating MFN for China. Each year this is a difficult decision for me. I decided last Congress that we should renew MFN and continue to pursue other course of action to improve human rights in China. I continue to believe at this time it would not be the right approach for the United States to revoke MFN for China. The relationship between United States and China is complex and involves many issues: human rights and democracy, nonnproliferation, Taiwan, Tibet, trade and intellectual property rights. This relationship is very fragile and a balance needs to be struck. This relationship is like walking a tightrope. One missed step could throw the entire relationship off balance permanently. A sound relationship with China is in our national interest. China is the world's largest country. Years ago, we tried to isolate China and that policy failed. We should not repeat mistakes of the past. Engagement with China is the best solution. We cannot isolate China. We need to continue engaging China in a dialog to promote our interests, especially human rights.”