Statement of the Honorable Dana Rohrbacher, M.C., California

Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Trade
of the House Committee on Ways and Means

Hearing on United States-China Trade Relations and the
Possible Accession of China to the World Trade Organization

June 8, 1999

Mr. Chairman:

The time has long since passed when the United States should reexamine its fundamental policies toward China. That certainly includes our commercial policies. The policies of the past decade have not worked. After some initial progress, China has gone in the opposite direction, especially since the end of the Reagan administration and the tragic reversal in 1989 at Tiananmen Square.

In the past ten years, the genocide has continued in Tibet, the Chinese democracy movement has been wiped out, and there has been increasing belligerence by the clique that runs China. The Beijing regime is modernizing and expanding its military power, while threatening the United States and bullying its neighbors, especially Taiwan and the Philippines.

Big business falsely claims China is a country that is liberalizing through commercial engagement. There is no evidence of that. In fact, empirical evidence suggests the opposite. Furthermore, the trade relationship is not good for us. The Chinese are using their $60 billion annual trade surplus with us to modernize their armed forces, including building nuclear missiles aimed at the United States. And they are continuing to proliferate weapons of mass destruction.

The resolution I introduced yesterday, disapproving the annual extension of normal trade relations [formerly MFN] does not intend to isolate China. Instead, it sends the Beijing regime a direct message that the United States will stand by our democratic principles. The Chinese communists have manipulated our openness on trade and American taxpayers have ended up subsidizing investment in China by private corporations, who largely intend not to sell commercial products, to set up manufacturing units that further undercut American industry.

Current trade policy with China is not good for our national security and it is not good for our economic well being. It mostly benefits a handful of billionaires who contribute heavily to both political parties. For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to suspend this policy for the coming year and to support my resolution of disapproval.