Max Baucus: “After Secretary of State Christopher's visit to China, it is appropriate to review our relations with China. The…”

“After Secretary of State Christopher's visit to China, it is appropriate to review our relations with China. The President's Executive order on most favored nation tariff status for China expires in just over 2 months. Today I will discuss the situation we face today, the further actions we hope to see from China, and our options for next year if we are able to renew MFN status of executive order conditions. The Executive order has seven conditions. On the first two, emigration rights and prison labor, China must comply fully. On the other five--the Universal Declaration on Human Rights; political prisoners; Red Cross access to prisons; protecting the religious and cultural heritage of Tibet; and radio jamming--China must make overall, significant progress. On the first of the full compliance conditions, China allows substantially free emigration. On prison labor, Treasury Secretary Bentsen signed a new agreement in Beijing in February. Any MFN action on this issue will have to be based on failure to comply with the more recent agreement, and it is too early to tell. On the overall, significant progress conditions, the record is mixed. China has done little on the civil and political sections of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the declaration also includes rights to a basic standard of living, to seek employment, and to travel within one's country, on which there has been great progress.”