World

U.S., China Sign Trade Deal

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 15, 1999 / 4:24 AM EST / CBS

Capping off a long campaign to open ChinaÂ's markets, Chinese and U.S. negotiators signed a breakthrough agreement Monday that removes trade barriers and clears the biggest hurdle to China's entry into the World Trade Organization. The agreement had been a key foreign policy goal of the Clinton Administration.

U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and China's trade minister, Shi Guangsheng, signed the agreement after six days of grueling negotiations.

After the signing, President Clinton hailed the agreement as Â"a profoundly important stepÂ" in relations between Washington and Beijing and a boon for the global economy.

The president announced the deal during a morning speech to American business leaders in Turkey at the opening of a 10-day trip.

There was loud applause after Mr. Clinton opened his remarks by saying, Â"I am pleased to say that the United States and the Peoples Republic of China have now successfully concluded a strong accession agreement for China to enter the World Trade Organization.Â"

China's admission to the WTO, the Geneva-based organization that sets the rules for global trade, has been a major foreign policy and economic goal of the Clinton administration.

Â"This agreement is a major step forward in bringing China into the WTO and a profoundly important step in the relationship between the United States and China,Â" the president said.

A trade agreement with China has long been sought by U.S. manufacturers and farmers, who currently face high barriers trying to export to China.

Â"The China-WTO agreement is good for the United States, it's good for China, it's good for the world economy,Â" the president said. Â"Today, China embraces principles of economic openness, innovation and competition that will bolster China's economic reforms and advance the rule of law.Â"

He praised Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji for showing Â"genuine leadershipÂ" in committing China to open its markets and abide by global trade rules.

Mr. Clinton had been at the verge of a WTO agreement with China last April only to see the effort stalled by NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade May 7. NATO said the bombing was accidental.

Mr. Clinton said that on the basis of the agreement, he would work hard to gain China's entry into the WTO and undertake an Â"all-outÂ" attempt to persuade the U.S. Congress to approve permanent normal trade relations with Beijing.

The U.S. negotiators had been working under an end-of-the-month deadline, trying to secure a deal before a November 30-Dec. 3 ministerial meeting in Seattle to launch a new round of global trade talks.