May 26, 1999

The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are deeply concerned about the continuing negotiations regarding China's being admitted into the WTO. In light of current events, and, specifically, the recent incidents in and by China, we are fully convinced that the most responsible and appropriate step is to set aside negotiations.

China's entrance into the WTO would have a permanent and significant effect on the American economy, not to mention the flexibility of future Administrations. Under present circumstances, the U.S. should take a step back, reconsider the current approach to China and resume negotiations only when they can be conducted without the overhang of ancillary events.

Among the issues that must be addressed is the effectiveness of our current terms of engagement with China. Recent newspaper editorials across the political spectrum have suggested that the Chinese government's sanctioning of the attacks on our embassy in Beijing, the torching of the consulate, and the attacks on U.S. businesses demonstrate clearly that our engagement policy and delinking trade from other issues such as human rights have not fostered the deep, stable and meaningful relationship between the United States and China that had been promised.

Moreover, the Chinese government's allowance (and even encouragement) of such unlawful activity against the United States emphasizes the concerns many members of Congress have expressed about China's willingness and ability to enforce the rule of law, including its WTO commitments.

In short, we are persuaded that the United States will be well served by such a "time-out." We look forward to working with you on this issue in the future and to developing an appropriate policy toward working with China.

Sincerely yours,

Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC)
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Rep. Ben Gilman (R-NY)
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA)

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