Clinton says China holdings threaten U.S. security

[slipslidingaway]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080329/pl_nm/usa_politics_clinton_china_dc;_ylt=AnLXJobyQnfV_WLHzbfFn5.s0NUE

"...Clinton made China the focus of her criticism, which she has repeated throughout Indiana, a state that has suffered from manufacturing job losses that many blame on unfair trade practices and companies outsourcing jobs to China...

Clinton accused Beijing of manipulating its currency and of not holding its exporters to the same health and environmental standards that U.S. companies must meet..."


Clinton hails Senate vote on China trade
September 19, 2000

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/19/pntr.vote.hfr/index.html

"...Critics argued that opening trade with China would reward a repressive communist state, undermine labor and environmental protections and cost jobs for U.S. workers. But Clinton said bringing China into the global trade regime will help make Beijing a more responsible and accountable member of the world community..."



US-China trade deal, or PNTR, clears Senate hurdles (09/08/2000)

http://www.chinahouston.org/news/2000907195742.html

"...The Senate then went on to reject three proposed amendments that threatened to scuttle the trade bill. Once approved by the Senate and signed into law by Clinton, the bill would end the annual ritual of reviewing Beijing's trade status and guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to the US market as products from nearly every other nation.

The amendments, by Democrats Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, called on China to increase religious freedom, use environmentally-friendly fuels and for Washington to continue to review trade relations with Beijing.


...If any amendments are adopted, the trade bill would be sent back to a bitterly divided House of Representatives, which approved the controversial measure in May..."

[anonymous171]

1. How can anyone of our canddiates do anything to China when they have us in their pocket (debtwise)?

[slipslidingaway]

8. True, although we also purchase many of their goods, but I would

rather be the one without the large debt.

[niceypoo]

10. By paying it back...

[Muttocracy]

2. interesting. Haven't heard as much on China as we should this election cycle. nt

[slipslidingaway]

9. Agree, there was more discussion in the Republican debates.n/t

[KittyWampus]

3. October 2000, Clinton signs China trade bill. When was it he sold those supercomputers to China?

Clinton signs China trade bill

October 10, 2000
Web posted at: 6:28 p.m. EDT (2228 GMT)

By Matt Smith/CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton closed years of political and economic debate Tuesday, and sealed a major achievement of his administration by signing a bill extending permanent, normal trade status to China.


"Today we take a major step toward China's entry into the World Trade Organization and a major step toward answering some of the central challenges of this new century," Clinton said in a bipartisan White House ceremony Tuesday afternoon.

"Trade with China will not only extend our nation's unprecedented economic growth, it offers us a chance to help shape the future of the world's most prosperous nation and to reaffirm our own global leadership for peace and prosperity."

The measure is considered the most important U.S. trade legislation since passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. But it faced a long campaign of opposition from labor, human rights and conservative groups who wanted to retain the annual review of trade relations with China.

U.S. business interests wanted the agreement in order to gain access to China's market of 1-billion-plus people. But critics argued that such an agreement would reward a repressive communist state, undermine the country's labor and environmental protections and cost jobs for U.S. workers.

[FrenchieCat]

5. That's why when I heard her say this....I gringed......

I wonder how many really remember this.

Bill Clinton really was the best Republican President ever!
His list of achievements is quite breathtaking:

NAFTA
China Trade Deal
DADT
DOMA
Welfare Reform
Telecommunications Act
Started Bankruptcy reform
Banking Deregulation


Was there anything that he didn't do for them?
And what did he do for Democrats, exactly? :shrug:

[niceypoo]

11. The republican ABC rule...

A trade deal and borrowing cash from the Chinese to pump up a war that Bush started are two different matters entirely. Again, Obama supporters attempt to pin Bushes failures on Bill Clinton, effectively giving Bush a pass.

Shameful...hope my ass.

[slipslidingaway]

12. I had to use The Google for the sale of supercomputers...

"...U.S. business interests wanted the agreement in order to gain access to China's market of 1-billion-plus people. But critics argued that such an agreement would reward a repressive communist state, undermine the country's labor and environmental protections and cost jobs for U.S. workers..."

From what I have read the critics raised some valid concerns at the time, unfortunately they were the minority.



Clinton's Super Computer Push

http://www.wisconsinproject.org/pubs/editorials/2000/supers-awsj.htm

"U.S. companies are selling countries the super computers they need to build the weapons America will have to defend against."

by Gary Milhollin

Asian Wall Street Journal
September 19, 2000, p. 6


"Much has been made lately of the U.S. proposal for a national missile defense system, and whether U.S. taxpayers should pay billions of dollars to counter threats from China and other countries developing nuclear and missile arsenals. But what American taxpayers don't know is that U.S. companies could soon sell these countries the computers they need to build the missiles America will have to defend against.

Last month, after intensive lobbying by the U.S. computer industry, President Bill Clinton decided to lower once again the barriers that control the export of American-made, high-performance computers. As a result, arms makers in China and other countries will soon be able to buy computers up to 14 times more powerful than the ones they were able to get only eight months ago. Moreover, under the new regulations, which are scheduled to take effect in January, countries allowed to purchase such computers can do so without any security review by the U.S. government..."

[bhikkhu]

4. China is the main creditor for the US Federal Debt

It would be fine to say that something must be done about trade imbalances and so forth, but the cash that they take in trade is largely pumped back into our economy as treasuries purchases, financing the operation of the US government. It is fine to unwind one side of the equation, but what about the other?

[slipslidingaway]

13. Too bad this issue was not discussed more during the debates...

instead the same topics were covered again and again.

:(

[liberaltrucker]

6. No shit Sherlock

If this were Fark, the "obvious" tag would asplode.

:banghead:

[RichardRay]

7. It's not a GOOD place to be, but...

it's not all bad, either. China's economy is not stable, the folks trying to 'manage' it have a tiger by the tail. Their growth is not coming from internal increases in productivity that serve their own markets, it's coming from a hell bent for leather 'growth at any cost' model that ignores a lot of costs that will be coming home to roost in the next 10 - 20 years.

They've invested in US Treasury securities; ownership of bonds isn't like an equity stake. They don't have input on how we run our economy. All it gives them is a reasonable return on the investment as long as the U.S. economy is healthy. It's true that our economy depends on them, but it's also true that their's is at least equally dependent (and probably more so) on ours. They're in danger of becoming a 'captive vendor', if they haven't already.

That reality is another reason I support Obama - he realizes the inter-related nature of the world's realities - as much as it might be nice to imagine a return to Fortress America, it just ain't gonna happen.

[slipslidingaway]

14. Given a choice I would rather be the creditor...

:shrug: