WTO & CHINA.   Term Paper ID:28773 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses issues re: China joining World Trade Organization. Most favored nations status. Human rights abuses.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses issues re: China joining World Trade Organization. Most favored nations status. Human rights abuses. Paper Introduction: The consensus is that membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) would be good for China and would benefit the Chinese economy. What is less certain is whether China's membership in the WTO would be good for the rest of the world or would in any way influence China toward democratic reforms as some hope. This issue has been argued for some time in the United States with referee to giving China most favored nations (MFN) status as a trading partner, and now the argument is moving outward to the rest of the world over the WTO. In the U.S., concerns have been raised specifically because of recent Chinese actions such as possible involvement in spying, threats against Taiwan, and even possible involvement in questionable political fundraising. The MFN debate is illuminating over how different groups Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The Chinese take the view that America is only harboring ill feelingsabout the emergence of a stronger and more prosperous China, and theybelieve that Washington's policy toward Taiwan is designed to obstructChina's reunification. They also believe that the Americans use the human rights issueas a weapon to interfere in China's domestic affairs and undermine theChinese government and note that the U.S. "Playing Favorites: Just What Is 'MFN,' Anyway?" The New Republic (June 18, 199 ), 1 -12.Morris, K. because, underWTO rules, the United States must grant China the same trade status as allother WTO members or risk being shut out itself from the trade concessionsBeijing offers in order to gain membership (O'Neill). The Administration(first that of Bush and now that of Clinton) feels not only that trade is away of gaining influence but also that some leeway must be given forcultural differences. "China: A Favored Nation?" Scholastic Update (September 18, 1992), 18-19.Chanda, N. should or should not agree. some $19 billionworth of goods each year, and the U.S. Huus. "The New Nationalism." Far Eastern Economic Review (November 9, 1995), 2 -26.Duffy, Brian, Bay Fang, Thomas Omestad, Kevin Whitelaw, and Richard J. In theChinese view, winning MFN status is very important. The annual debate over MFN brings the issueto light again and again (Gibney 46). President Bush claimed that the policy was based on what hecalled "constructive engagement," meaning that continuing a dialogue withthe Chinese was the best way to encourage reform over time. As the Chinese are sustaining their economic growth and rapidly improving their standard of living, their national pride is certain to arise. The issue was raised most recently with the release of the Coxreport, a congressional report from 1999 on Chinese espionage that madenumerous allegations: "The report said Chinese agents stole information onevery currently deployed thermonuclear warhead in the U.S. They state that MFNstatus should not be renewed and that the U.S. It has shown little tendency to allowincreased democratization, however, Opponents point first to the Tiananmen Square incidents of 1989 asproof that the ruling elite will never allow democratic reforms and willkill its own people to prevent it. "Human Rights First." Foreign Policy (Spring 1994), 43-47.Campbell, Todd. arsenal andspirited away classified data on the neutron bomb" (Duffy, Fang, Omestad,Whitelaw, and Newman 28). This is a long-standing pride that was frustrated by Western and Japanese conquering of China in modern history (Jisi 45). This explains why China wants to join the WTO, but it does notexplain why the U.S. "Chinese Prison Labor." Society (November/December 1991), 49-59.O'Neill, Robert. "China's Muscular Nationalism." New Perspectives Quarterly (January 1, 1996), 41-45.Mosher, Steven W. The arguments on bothsides are much the same as those for and against the MFN, based on economicbenefits that might accrue and on the belief that these would influenceChina in the future toward greater democratization (for proponents), orthat allowing membership in the WTO would be a failure to take a moralstand which might pressure China into making changes (for opponents).China has been changing economically for some time because the nation haslittle choice if it is to survive. WTO membership should be denied until China showssigns of real change. China is one of theUnited States' major trading partners, selling the U.S. One abuse of human rights that has come to light that reflectsdirectly on trade issues is the fact that China is using prisoners asforced labor to produce goods and services bolstering the Chinese economy.Mosher explains: "Whether operating factories, mines, or farms, eachfacility is not only required to be self-supporting, but is expected toturn a profit for the state" (Mosher 49). "The China Conundrum." U.S. The MFN debate is illuminating over how different groups view tradewith China. in turn sells China more than $6billion worth of products each year. The elite has indulged in purges ofrivals and of those seen in any way as in opposition. The consensus is that membership in the World Trade Organization(WTO) would be good for China and would benefit the Chinese economy. should in fact punish Chinafor its internal policies by restricting American trade within that countryas well. China's truculencewas seen again recently with reference to Taiwan, which at one point becamethe target of a series of war games intended to intimidate voters in aTaiwanese election, with the United States sending much of its navy to theregion (Morris 11 ). MFN status entitles a country to economic preferences grantedby the U.S. The WTO debate is tied to the MFN debate in the U.S. There are efforts in Congress to bansuch imports because of the way the goods are produced. Whatis less certain is whether China's membership in the WTO would be good forthe rest of the world or would in any way influence China toward democraticreforms as some hope. China's political system seems geared first to perpetuating itselfand to rejecting any ideas seen as Western, including democracy and freetrade. government has created obstaclesto China's entry into the WTO with the intention to weaken Chinaeconomically: All these fears and suspicions combine to stimulate the already muscular nationalistic feelings in China. News & World Report (June 7, 1999), 28.Gibney,Frank, Jr. It is the President who decides whichnations will receive MFN status. Newman. from China are madeby political prisoners under slave-labor conditions. Some $1 million worth of thesegoods were exported to the United States in 199 , with goods such astextiles, wines, teas, and machinery. Hong Kong: Far Eastern Economic Review, 1994.Bernstein, Robert L. In the U.S., concerns have been raisedspecifically because of recent Chinese actions such as possible involvementin spying, threats against Taiwan, and even possible involvement inquestionable political fundraising. This is only areflection of the continuing unrest and distrust in China that hasprevailed at least since the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and massacrein 1989 (Asia 1994 Yearbook 114-115). Supporters ofMFN also point out that cutting trade with China would hurt the governmentless than it would hurt the private exporters in China who are crusading inthe move within China away from communism and toward capitalism (Campbell18-19). They say that the Americans want to stop Chinesearms sales that are merely for commercial purposes while at the same timethey are selling more sophisticated fighters and missiles to the unyieldingTaiwanese. Theyalso note that many of the goods imported to the U.S. and K.H. Works CitedAsia 1994 Yearbook. Human rights experts point out thatChina continues to arrest and try supporters of the nation's pro-democracymovement while also keeping thousands of political prisoners in jail. President Bush granted the status toChina for three years, and President Clinton continued it. This issue has been argued for some time in theUnited States with referee to giving China most favored nations (MFN)status as a trading partner, and now the argument is moving outward to therest of the world over the WTO. Critics of thepolicy state that giving MFN status to China overlooks the continuing,widespread violations of human rights in that country while also sendingthe wrong message to the leadership. Proponents of MFN say this is all to the good and will lead to changein time; opponents say it is the problem and that the Chinese system shouldnot be bolstered until it changes its view of human rights. In 1992,visiting American business people said it was not their business to discusshuman rights with the Chinese, but today many American executives arebeginning to do just that, perhaps from a perception that the Americanpublic is uneasy with the way China is being given special treatment andperhaps out of a genuine concern that human rights policies are notchanging as hoped in the past. consumers. "Not So Dire Straits." Financial World (January 3 , 1996), 1 9- 112. Goods from countries on theMFN list are allowed into the United States at the lowest possible importtax, which makes the goods more attractive to U.S. and Richard Dicker. While the main goal may be to hold the country together during aperiod of rapid, turbulent transformation, dissidents see nationalism beingused as a new tool of repression (Chanda and Huus 2 ). "The Trouble With China," Newsweek (May 17, 1993), 46.Jisi, Wang. only to its best trading partners. "Dismantling the Great Wall." National Journal (March 25, 2 ).Weisberg, Jacob. Membership in the WTO would benefit China, but this might notbenefit the rest of the world and is unlikely to be decisive in changingthe Chinese system. Some critics see the Chineseleadership as turning to nationalism as a way of shoring up its waningpower. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.