Text Pages \ Issues, Impacts, and Future of Trade With China

Testimony of Gerrit W. Gong, Ph.D.

Freeman Chair and Asia Program Director

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Before the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission Session

on Issues, Impacts, and Future of Trade with China

February 24, 2000

The testimony of Gerrit W. Gong, Ph.D., presented before the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission, discusses the complexities and implications of China’s potential accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Gong highlights the contrasts within China as an ancient civilization that is still developing economically, emphasizing its competitive export sectors despite a relatively closed economy. He outlines the political challenges in the U.S. regarding China’s WTO entry, particularly in an election year, and warns against oversimplifying the debate into binary choices that could lead to disappointment. Gong also addresses the strategic implications of China’s WTO membership, suggesting that it may enhance China’s competitive position in Asia and globally, potentially affecting U.S. interests and relationships with regional allies. He concludes by stressing the need for careful monitoring of China’s economic and military developments in the context of globalization and trade relations.

This is one of several documents that became difficult to find once he became an apostle of the LDS church.

14 pages