The House essentially ratified a deal struck last November between U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and Chinese officials in conjunction with China's impending entry into the World Trade Organization. The agreement will come into effect when China formally joins the WTO, which is expected later this year. WTO members are required to trade with each other under the most favorable terms possible. Under the Sino-American bilateral agreement, China will eliminate tech tariffs by 2005, let U.S. companies distribute products in China and allow foreign ownership in telecommunications firms. Most important for software developers, China will adopt the WTO's intellectual property protocol, which will allow the U.S. software industry to combat Chinese software piracy by using China's courts and tribunals.
Many observers expect the new trade agreement to strengthen the hand of China's reformers.
Change, however, will not come easily. House passage of the bill was far from certain. Labor unions as well as human rights, environmental and religious groups, lined up against the measure - pointing to the Chinese regime's track record of methodically crushing any opposition to its rule. We understand the concerns about religious freedom and human rights. But the way to get China to improve is by bringing them into the global economy.