Most-Favored Nation (MFN)

US-China and MFN

• Link to US Secretary of State Home Page on MFN and China - This is the perfect place to go for up-to-the-minute news on the subject as well as links to numerous other sources on the web relating to mfn. Recently Updated.

• Politicians and White House Executives on MFN
  1. President Clinton
     • Decision to continue MFN status - In an open letter to a friend, President Clinton explains his reasoning for continuing the use of MFN status with China. Dated October 18, 1996.
  2. Former Secretary of State, Warren Christopher
     • Arguing the need to grant MFN Status to China - In order to help ensure the growth and positive relations with the growing superpower, granting MFN is in the US' best interest.
  3. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Peter Tarnoff
     • Testimony delivered before House International Relations Committee on Asia and the Pacific - Delivered on May 16, 1996
  4. Ambassador Michael Kantor
     • Speech delivered to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco - Speech given July 25, 1995. Use the "find" command or "ctrl-f" to search for MFN

• Critical Analysis of Clinton's Policies Regarding MFN and China
  1. Why President-elect Clinton should go to China - Obviously an older article from Mother Jones, but it does provide good insight into the initial dealings by the President with MFN status.
  2. Foreign Policy- Clinton Must Develop a Strategy Beyond Crisis Management - A general article on Clinton's foreign policies - including MFN and China.
  3. Commentary Regarding Crafting a Realistic China Policy - An article from Businessweek from March 1997.
  4. Promoting Healthy US-China Relations- an Open Letter to the President and Congress; Dated June 19, 1996

Human Rights and MFN

"In the face of such overwhelming success, new-found national pride pits Asian countries against the "decadent West," which constantly preaches to Asian nations to conform to what it believes to be universally established standards of human rights practice. Constant pressure to observe human rights obligations, often applied with threats of economic sanctions, is regarded by many as a slap in the Asian face and, more importantly, an attempt by the West to hold the East ransom. The vociferous debate generated over President Bill Clinton's decision to renew China's most favored nation (MFN) status in 1993 is a case in point. Beyond a cursory flat denial of human rights violations, Asians must justify their actions, and one powerful way to do this is by claiming historical, cultural, and religious exception. At the same time, some Asian states push the cultural line to support their soft authoritarian form of governments, which have, together with their social and economic agendas, also come under attack from Western leaders and intellectuals. In this sense, Asian states are really fighting for the right to be modern, not to forge their own version of human rights."Click Here for entire article

• More Links
  • US Businesses Dealing with the Compromise between Economic Advantages and Human Rights Violations.

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