China Opposed to Linking PNTR with Human RightsForeign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue Tuesday urged the United States to grant China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) without any preconditions and expressed China's opposition to interference in its internal affairs in any form.Zhang made the remarks at today's press conference in response to a question concerning a U.S. Congress proposal for setting up a watchdog committee on the PNTR issue in relation to China's human rights. The Sino-U.S. agreement concerning China's accession to the World Trade Organization is a win-win deal based on equality, mutual benefit and mutual understanding, but not a U.S. charity to China, Zhang stressed, urging the U.S. government and relevant sides to honor the U.S. commitments to China, grant China PNTR timely and without any preconditions. The U.S. government has made solemn commitments to China on PNTR, and the Sino-U.S. agreement was based on the implementation of these commitments, Zhang pointed out. "Should the agreement not be carried out, the interests of U.S companies in China would be hurt, and the U.S. competitiveness against other WTO members in China would be negatively affected," Zhang warned. On the other hand, China is firmly opposed to any U.S. interference in its internal affairs in any form, reiterated the spokeswoman. |
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