A visiting U.S. senator said Friday he warned Chinese leaders it would be "very difficult" for President Clinton to renew China's preferential trade status next year unless Beijing improves its human rights record.
After meetings with senior Chinese officials including President Jiang Zemin, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., noted slight progress in China's policy toward Tibet but said there had been much less progress in other human rights disputes.Clinton this year renewed China's Most Favored Nation trade status without conditions but issued an executive order calling for significant progress on human rights before the status comes up again for renewal next June.
MFN guarantees the lowest possible tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. market. Its withdrawal would sharply increase the cost of Chinese goods and would likely ignite a trade war.
"I stressed my concern that if China does not meet the president's conditions on MFN status, it would be very difficult for him to renew MFN status next year," Baucus, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on international trade, told reporters.