In 1995, China began seeking accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and in 1999, China finally became its 143rd member. However, in this process, Long Yongtu made great contributions and was hailed as "a great contributor to promoting China's accession to the WTO."
Despite this, former US President Clinton also claimed that he was "a contributor to China's accession to the WTO."
Clinton lobbied the Congress for China's WTO accession and put forward "three reasons," but looking back on what he did many years later, it is not difficult to see the ill-intentioned intentions involved. So, what was Clinton's actions before and after China's accession to the WTO?
What was the final result of his "three major reasons" or "three major conspiracy," and what impact did it have on China?
China's reopening of GATT has not been smooth sailing, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) signed in 1947 was supposed to be China's participation as a member state.
However, in 1950, the Kuomintang voluntarily withdrew from GATT because it did not want the mainland government to continue to benefit from it, a move that had an impact on the mainland economy for more than 20 years.
Before the reform and opening up, China's economy was more "self-sufficient" and not closely linked to international trade. However, after the reform and opening up, China's economy began to return to the international track, and a large number of foreign-funded factories entered China, which had a huge impact on local enterprises.
At the same time, China has a large population and a huge market, and for Western countries, the Chinese market is a rare piece of cake. However, while Western countries are benefiting, China is not getting much out of it.
China must reopen its borders. According to the GATT rules, if China wants to resume GATT, it needs to obtain the unanimous consent of all member countries. China was a member of the GATT, so it stands to reason that the road to reopening should be smooth.
However, the United States was the first to oppose the resumption of GATT.
In the early eighties, China was just beginning to develop, and the economy was not developed. However, in order to force China to pay more "entry fees for customs reopening" and to cut China's tariffs, the United States and other Western countries are trying to pin the hat of developed countries on China's head.
The United States has even demanded a zero-tariff policy on some products exported from China. China resolutely opposes and adheres to Premier Zhu Rongji's emphasis that "China must participate in the resumption of GATT as a developing country."
After years of negotiations, China, the United States, the European Union and other countries, driven by their own interests, finally changed the name of the GATT to the WTO in 1995. In the process, the mainland has also changed the goal of "resuming GATT" to "joining the WTO," but this goal has not yet been achieved.
Long Yongtu, China's chief WTO accession negotiator, said that the reason why China is so obsessed with WTO accession is not only for the sake of economic and trade interests, but also for the sake of safeguarding the country's dignity and face.
When recalling the scene at the time of China's accession to the WTO, Shi Guangsheng, minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation, said: "The United States is a member of the WTO that asks for the highest price and the largest amount of content for China, and if the United States can succeed, then there is hope for our accession to the WTO." ”
The main reason why the United States is blocking China's accession to the WTO is because they believe that after China's accession to the WTO, it will grow rapidly and its strength will be further enhanced, which will pose a threat to the United States.
However, then-President Clinton held a different view, believing that China's accession to the WTO could bring more opportunities and challenges.
"Clinton is a complex leader who vacillates in his attitude toward China. During his presidency, he pressured China on issues such as human rights and weapons proliferation, but after the Galaxy incident, he realized the impact of the deterioration of U.S.-China relations on the U.S. economy and began to reconsider his China policy.
Although he has taken a positive stance on China's accession to the WTO, his actions are clearly driven by US interests. ”
Clinton's decision to support China's accession to the WTO is facing tremendous challenges. First, Congress has been opposed, which makes his decision more difficult. Second, some non-governmental forces in the United States are also opposed to China's accession to the WTO, especially the American Labor Organization, which is worried that China's cheap labor will take away their jobs.
However, American trade experts believed back in the nineties that the United States should concentrate on producing products with higher added value. As a result, labor-intensive enterprises are themselves on the verge of being eliminated in the United States.
If China joins the WTO, those labor-intensive industries such as the apparel industry will be occupied by China's cheap labor, which will make it more difficult for labor-intensive enterprises in the United States to survive.
Clinton put forward three points in response to the opposition from all sides. The first point is well known to all: China's accession to the WTO will enable US capital to dominate the Chinese market.
Although some US politicians who oppose China's accession to the WTO agree with this, according to the US hegemonic theory, they hope to occupy an advantageous position in trade and enjoy privileges and benefits.
This is also the main reason why the United States tried to play tricks again in the final negotiations on China's accession to the WTO.
Clinton's second wish is to strengthen global security cooperation through dialogue, and at the same time to obtain some developments in China so that it can better prepare for it. He knows that knowing each other is the key to victory.
This has also been endorsed by the US Congress, after all, China has always been regarded as a potential enemy by the United States. The last objective, too, is the most critical and dangerous.
Clinton's attempt to ideologically Westernize China through cooperation and infiltration has played into the hands of American politicians. Although there has been a shift in Congress's attitude under Clinton's lobbying, at the negotiating table, things are still not progressing.
However, there was one man who courageously stood up and finally made the negotiations a success and a tribute to the new century.
An American's words made the Chinese deeply humiliated and angry. During the 1997 negotiations, the US representative resolutely rejected the mainland's demand for a second test of American meat, and even said that Chinese meat could only be eaten by dogs.
This is not only an insult to the quality of Chinese products, but also a disrespect to the Chinese. Long Yongtu was deeply indignant at this, and took the case up and invited the US representative out.
On November 10, 1999, China and the United States launched the 25th round of negotiations. Although two years have passed, the US representative still has a tough attitude and no intention of compromise.
Although there has been agreement within the United States on the negotiations, President Clinton has once again stressed the need for the negotiations to succeed. However, because the United States has not made an inch of concession on such issues as import tariffs on automobiles, special protection clauses, audio-visual products, account-sharing films, banking, securities, value-added telecommunications, and "management control," China and the United States have been unable to reach a consensus, and the negotiations have reached a deadlock.
Despite days and nights of arduous negotiations, no substantive progress has been made. When everyone was exhausted and ready to pick themselves up again and continue with the mission, the United States came to another hand.
On November 14, the American representative suddenly delivered the news in the hotel that they would leave the next day. This seems to imply: if you don't agree, I won't negotiate with you.
In the evening, the American representatives disappeared en masse, and neither in the embassy nor in the hotel, they could not be found. This sudden disappearance in negotiations is not only irresponsible, but also arrogant.
China has made tremendous efforts and sacrifices in order to resume its accession to the WTO, and we do not want unexpected changes at this critical moment. Long Yongtu immediately reported the incident to Premier Zhu Rongji, who resolutely decided to personally negotiate with the other side.
At 4 a.m. on 15 July, Premier Zhu Rongji expressed severe criticism of the previous disappearances of the United States during his talks with US representatives Barshevsky and Sperling.
After criticizing the other side, he proposed a number of concessions, including compromises in three aspects: audio-visual, account-sharing films, and value-added telecommunications. Although Long Yongtu of our side anxiously handed over the note that "not authorized by the State Council," Premier Zhu resolutely patted the table and demanded that Long Yongtu stop handing over the note.
Seeing this scene, the US representative may feel in his heart that Premier Zhu is still very negotiable. However, they soon realized that Premier Zhu was simply asking them to continue the negotiations, and that the concessions he proposed might not be as easy to accept as they had hoped.
"On the first three issues, we have already made concessions, but for the last four, you have to make concessions, otherwise we will not sign. Premier Zhu Rongji's words were full of determination and firmness, telling the United States that China is not to be slaughtered by others, and we will stick to our own stand.
Looking at Premier Zhu Rongji's determination, the US representatives also began to realize that there was only so much they could win. In the end, the negotiations ended with a relatively satisfactory outcome, and one of China's major gains was to change the most-favored-nation status granted by the United States from "annual disposal" to permanent.
Clinton received a telephone call from Barshevsky before signing the agreement, and was finally relieved to learn that China's WTO accession talks had been successful. He hadn't slept well during this time, but as the dust settled on China's accession to the WTO, the president, who was "a contributor to China's accession to the WTO," could finally have a good rest.
After the difficult issue of China's accession to the WTO was resolved, negotiations with other WTO countries became smooth. On September 17, 2001, with Mexico signing the document, China's accession to the WTO finally came to an end.
On December 11, 2001, after 15 years of hard work, China finally became a full member of the WTO. At this time, US President Clinton secretly sneered, believing that China's accession to the WTO would start his scheme, but it turned out that his expectations were not realized.
Although the plan did not come true, China's economy took off rapidly after China's accession to the WTO. Our labor advantage has attracted a large amount of foreign capital, which has laid a solid foundation for "MADE IN CHINA" to go global.
With regard to the three major conspiracy before Clinton's accession to the WTO, the United States did enter the Chinese market, but at the same time, China also attracted funds from all over the world, and the United States did not reach the level of "encroachment."
Instead, China's cheap goods have managed to capture more market share after entering foreign markets, which has led to a U.S. trade deficit with China.
China has always played an important role in strengthening cooperation on global security issues. However, certain military and political trends on the mainland will be open and transparent, and information that should not be made public will never be leaked.
Therefore, the United States can only secretly carry out "intelligence theft", such as the Guo Wanjun and Zhang Jiange incidents. However, this kind of covert action is definitely two different concepts than an open understanding of China.
"China's role in the WTO is crucial". As a result, the United States deeply regrets China's decision to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has adopted a series of measures to try to contain China, including trade wars and political sanctions.
Conclusion: Although President Clinton had his own selfish motives in supporting China's accession to the WTO, it is undeniable that his proposition has indeed brought great help to the mainland. On the eve of the 2000 presidential election, China and the United States successfully resolved the issue of WTO accession, which had been disputed for many years.
If the United States still does not agree to our accession to the WTO at that time, then it may take longer for the two countries to run in with each other after the new president takes office. After all, the attitude of American politicians towards China has always been unpredictable, and no one at that time could accurately predict whether the next president's attitude towards China would be friendly or hostile.