Big Business Looks to Sew Up the Chinese Market

The Corporate PNTR Lobby How Big Business is Paying Millions to Gain Billions in China

by Ian Urbina

In late May, the U.S. Congress will vote on whether to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR, formerly known as most favored nation (MFN) status) to China, and the U.S. business community is sparing no expense to push  the case for approval. The impending vote -- and China's parallel entrance into the World Trade Organization -- represents the final obstacle for U.S. corporations in their long pursuit of China's fabled "one billion new consumers."

Spearheading the PNTR push is a coalition of four main trade associations -- the U.S.-China Business Council, the Business Roundtable, the Business Coalition for U.S.-China Trade and the Emergency Committee for American Trade -- representing hundreds of the nation's largest companies. Each of these outfits wields million dollar budgets and vast political clout. MORE>>

The Joys of Permanent Normal Trade Relations According to the Fortune 500

by Charlie Cray

In interviews with Multinational Monitor and in their policy papers which  are swamping Capitol Hill, multinational corporations are open -- and sometimes hyperbolic -- about what they hope a pro-PNTR vote will accomplish. Depending on the corporation or  industry sector, they cite various political factors or provisions in the November 1999 U.S.-China bilateral deal as critical factors which will benefit their business. The bilateral agreement includes Chinese trade concessions related to China's WTO accession and the U.S. grant of PNTR. MORE>>

Wall Street Singes the Dragon PetroChina's Failed IPO

By Braden Penhoet

When the government of China put shares in its China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) for sale on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges, it hoped to lead a new wave of successful offerings by its state-owned companies on international stock markets. The government's optimism was shared by U.S.-based investment houses, consulting firms, accountants and lawyers prepping the offerings. But the troubled April 6 initial public offering (IPO) of CNPC's subsidiary PetroChina, Ltd. became a lesson in how uncertain the prospects are for easy access to western capital markets for China's core industries. MORE>>

Chinese Rights, U.S. Wrongs

Interviews with Wei Jingsheng and Alice Kwan

Wei Jingsheng is China's leading human rights dissident. Alice Kwan is a researcher with the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (HKCIC), where she monitors labor conditions in South China, with a particular focus on the garment and footwear industries. MORE>>