UNITED STATES: HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE TUNG CHEE-HWA URGES BUSINESSMEN TO SUPPORT UPCOMING CONRESSIONAL VOTE FOR PERMANENT NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS WITH CHINA

Record ID: 337052

  • Title: UNITED STATES: HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE TUNG CHEE-HWA URGES BUSINESSMEN TO SUPPORT UPCOMING CONRESSIONAL VOTE FOR PERMANENT NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS WITH CHINA
  • Date: 7th April 2000
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., USA (APRIL 7, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV: HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE TUNG CHEE-HWA ENTERING MEDIA CONFERENCE ROOM 0.09 2. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) TUNG SAYING: "We met today with President Clinton and Madeleine Albright, we spoke on a variety issues including the state of the economy, PNTR for China, and the elections in
  • Embargoed: 22nd April 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA7OGKPYWWFNSMBG84KQBQ3PPEZ
  • Story Text: Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-Hwa has met with
    President Clinton and Madeleine Albright in Washington and
    urged American businessmen to support the upcoming
    congressional vote for Permanent Normal Trade Relations with
    China.

    Hong Kong's leader on Friday (April 7) urged U.S.

    political and business leaders to pass a landmark trade
    agreement with China, saying it was key to economic recovery
    and would help the entire Asia region.

    Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the U.S.Chamber of
    Commerce, Hong Kong Chief ExecutiveTung Chee-hwa urged
    American businessmen to support Permanent Normal Trade
    Relations (PNTR) for China, saying a vote against it in
    Congress next month would be "devastating" to Hong Kong.

    Tung also met President Bill Clinton for 30 minutes at
    the White House on Friday, and most of their talks focused on
    the PNTR vote in Congress.Clinton has repeatedly touted the
    economic benefits of the deal, saying the United States would
    be the big loser if PNTR were defeated.

    Permanent trade relations would help pave the way for
    China's entry to the World Trade Organisation and full
    membership for Beijing in the community of global trade.

    The U.S.House of Representatives will vote during the
    week of May 22-26 on legislation granting permanent trade
    benefits to China.Senate approval of the deal is virtually
    assured, leaving the bill's fate in the House as the only
    uncertainty.

    The vote on PNTR is expected to be close, with many
    Democrats siding with labour unions that oppose the bill based
    on Beijing's record on human rights and labour rights.

    Speaking after the luncheon, Tung said that American
    labour unions should support PNTR because labour standards in
    China have improved significantly over the last two decades.

    He also urged human rights activists to support PNTR, saying
    China's economic standard of living had also improved during
    the same period.

    Administration officials say it is better to open up to
    China than to try to close it off because of its human rights
    record.

    Earlier at the White House, Clinton and Tung also
    discussed how Hong Kong had adapted to being back under
    Chinese rule.Beijing regained sovereignty over Hong Kong in
    1997 under the "one country, two systems" formula.

    Tung told Clinton the change had gone smoothly and he also
    reported that the island's economy was moving ahead.

    National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said Tung
    told Clinton that every capital in Asia hopes for a positive
    vote on permanent trade relations between the two countries,
    as they all see benefits to the region from good U.S.-China
    relations.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register