WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House voted Thursday to back President Bush's request to continue normal trade relations with China, despite the recent spy plane dispute and concern over Beijing's human rights record.
The House voted 259-169 to reject a measure to overturn Bush's decision. In light of the overwhelming vote, the Senate is not expected to consider the measure.
With China on the verge of joining the World Trade Organization and opening its market to increased U.S. goods and services, supporters said it would be short-sighted to suspend normal trade relations now.
"We have much to lose, and little to gain, by failing to continue our current trade relationship with China," said Rep. Jim Moran, a Virginia Democrat.
Opponents said extending normal trade relations, which entitles China to ship its goods to the United States under the same low tariffs enjoyed by almost all nations, puts U.S. commercial interests above human rights concerns.
"Where is the freedom to organize? Where is the freedom to protest? Where is the freedom to pray? It's not in China," said Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat.
Critics lashed out at China over its handling of the mid-air collision involving a U.S. spy plane in April, the detention of U.S. scholars and its persecution of religious leaders.
They also pointed to a State Department report which said China's human rights record had worsened over the past year.
"We're listening to the cash registers -- not to the bishops, not to the pastors, not to the monks, not to the people in slave labor camps," said Rep. Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican.
Supporters said a vote to deny normal trade relations would make it much harder for the United States to encourage positive change in China and hurt American businesses and farmers who want to expand sales to the world's most populous country.
Two-way trade totaled $100 billion in 2000, including about $84 billion in Chinese exports to the United States and $16 billion in U.S. shipments to China.
"We are all angered and frustrated by the two-steps- forward, one-step-backward behavior of the Chinese government," said Rep. Jim Kolbe, an Arizona Republican. "Yet denying NTR will not bring about religious and political freedom for the Chinese."
Last year, Congress approved a bill to establish "permanent normal trade relations" with China and end a two-decade-old practice of annually reviewing the trade status.
But that hinged on China's entry into the WTO under terms as least as good as those it negotiated with the United States in a 1999 bilateral pact.
When that failed to happen by June, Bush faced the issue of whether to extend normal trade relations again this year. His decision set the stage for one last fight in the House.
China is on track to complete its nearly 15-year bid to join the WTO later this year or early next year.
Rep. Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat, noted that under last year's bill any decision now to revoke China's trade status would have only been temporary.
"If this resolution were to pass, we (would) withdraw NTR for a few months and then it would go into effect upon the formal accession of China" into the WTO, Levin said.
Levin said the United States would continue to keep an eye on China's human rights performance through a watchdog commission established by the 2000 legislation.
"We need to keep the light and heat on this issue and we intend to do just that," he said.
19:34 07-19-01
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