This means that the Communist Party's ability to control and monitor individual's social, political, and economic lives has diminished substantially. Explicit political reforms have been fewer, but today there are more local elections being held in China than at any other time in its modern history. It can be said in summary that, the reforms of the past two decades have led to increased personal liberty, a strengthened legal system, and the beginnings of a civil society, although there is still a very long way to go. The Chinese government has undertaken a slow but steady deregulation of the economy since it allowed for free enterprise in the countryside in 1982. Not uncoincidentally, China's demand for US exports has increased in similarly substantial leaps.
China is now America's fifth largest trading partner.
Similarly, US Foreign Direct Investment in China has increased significantly. On the other hand, we have a large and growing trade deficit with China that is unacceptable. The United States, along with its trading partners, have spent nearly half a century writing the rules for disciplined but fair international economic relations. From the Kennedy Round to the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1994, the United States has been instrumental in establishing the new international trade order. We should continue to lead by bringing China into the WTO on terms that not only will expand global economic opportunities for all member economies but also will preserve our domestic economic interests.