October 11, 2000

President Clinton signed the legislation that establishes permanent normal trade relations with China. The White House said PNTR with China will open markets for U.S. goods and services and strengthen U.S.-China relations, "continuing to pave the way toward economic freedom for the Chinese people."

China's accession to the WTO "will encourage Chinese leaders to move in the direction of meeting the demands of the Chinese people for openness, accountability, and reform," the statement added. This agreement was negotiated last December with China.

For agriculture, USDA expects that China's WTO accession would result in $2 billion annually in additional U.S. agricultural exports by 2005.

KYODO NEWS reported that China "hailed" Clinton's action. The trade bill ''conforms with the basic interests of the Chinese and American people,'' a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry told the news agency.