I want to extend my warmest welcome to President Becker, a towering figure in the American labor movement. President Becker has been at the forefront of advocacy for labor rights around the globe. President Becker was there in Seattle last November, alongside tens of thousands of union members, demanding that workers overseas be allowed to organize and bargain collectively. And President Becker has been extremely farsighted in his work with the environmental community to ensure that the global economy works for the environment. This is why China's integration into the world economy looms so large in our consciousness.
China is like no other country.
The size of its population will give it a preponderant influence on the evolution of the global economy. And the character of its government gives us cause for alarm over the direction the global economy may be taken. But let us be clear. There has been no suggestion of boycotting China, or isolating China, or walling them off from their economic partners. The question, really, is not even whether we integrate China into the world economy.