THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020015
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 46 lines
Upon my recent return from a business trip to China, I was appalled to read that 141 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to kill the bill that President Clinton agreed to sign granting China most-favored nation (MFN) status for another year. Obviously, many of the representatives in the House have never been to China nor understand what is going on in the Asiatic world.
Going to China made for the most exciting trip I have ever experienced. I was in China 50 years ago, as the captain of a Navy ship transporting China's new crack 6th National Army in its gray quilted uniforms to the north to fight the communists. That was in the winter of 1946, and what a thrill riding around in rickshaws, going to the French Club and eating mandarin fish at the Cathy Hotel. What a memorable experience.
Today China is another world. The progress being made by the Chinese is unbelievable. Everyone seems to be working or shopping. An enormous amount of construction is taking place all over China, especially in Beijing, a city of more than 11 million people, and Shanghai, with a population of more than 13 million.
While in Beijing I stayed at the China World Hotel, which deserves a five-star rating. After observing what is happening in China, I feel that we are standing still here in America. China appears to be the last frontier with unlimited potential.
What makes China so different is not only the building boom or its expanding manufacturing capacity, but also the people. I was privileged to deal with some of the top government officials, all of whom are members of the Communist Party, I was surprised to find that they are just like we are; with a wonderful sense of humor, they are industrious, intelligent and most cooperative. While China is still a communist country, it appears to be more of a democracy.
Americans who continue to knock China apparently do not realize that China's economy is the third largest in the world and, at the rate China is growing, will eventually overtake both the United States and Japan, whose economies are now first and second, respectively. With a growth rate of 10 percent a year, in the near future China will become No. 1.
By continuing the MFN trade status, we will all benefit. China is a powerful nation with no limit to what it can accomplish. If Congress and the people in America fail to recognize this, we will make a terrible mistake.
HUNTER A. HOGAN JR.
Norfolk, July 10, 1996 by CNB