Max Baucus: “Next week Chinese President Jiang Zemin will arrive for his first State visit, the first State visit by a Chinese leader…”

“Next week Chinese President Jiang Zemin will arrive for his first State visit, the first State visit by a Chinese leader in 12 years. As this visit approaches, I rise to discuss our China policy and the things we might hope to see from this event. Let me begin with the broad goals of our Asia policy. I think they are clear. First, a peaceful Pacific. Second, open trade. Third, joint work on problems of mutual concern like environmental problems and international crime. And fourth, progress toward respect for internationally recognized human rights. Generally speaking, our Asian policy has helped move us toward these goals. We have a permanent military force in the Pacific which, coupled with strong alliances with Japan and South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia, has helped to keep the peace for 20 years. While we have a lot of work ahead on Asian trade, our work has produced over $100 billion in export growth, an increase of 70 percent. That is since 1991.”