Thomas Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the US Chamber of Commerce, said the bill will also help spur prosperity for people in both countries.

Donohue, who paid a brief visit to Beijing shortly after the PNTR vote on Tuesday, called the vote a "hard-fought victory" since there have always been some forces in the US trying to hamper development of Sino-US relations, such as trade unions and other interest groups.

The US Senate passed the bill by a vote of 83-15 after a heated debate. The US House of Representatives passed the bill on May 24 by a vote of 237-197.

"The voice of opposition will not disappear with the passage of the PNTR bill," he said. "They are still watching, judging and waiting for the next opportunity to shut the door on China."

He said the chamber of commerce, representing 3 million companies and organizations, made its biggest efforts to date to lobby Congress to grant PNTR to China.

"We maintain that free trade creates millions of good paying jobs," he said. "We need trade. The US population is only 5 percent of the world total and we need to export to the other 95 percent."

The chamber will apply the same energy to spur the US to develop trade relations with China, regardless who becomes the country's next president.

"We have been educating US people that market is here (in China), and convincing policy makers to loosen export control on high-tech products to China," he said.

"It is an era of cooperation rather than confrontation."

PNTR clears the way for US firms to enjoy the full benefits of China's upcoming membership into the World Trade Organization (WT0).

Once the legislation was signed by President Bill Clinton and has become law, the United States will terminate its practice of reviewing China's most favored nation status (MFN) on an annual basis and establish permanent bilateral trade relations with China.

Donohue also forecast a significant expansion in Sino-US trade and an increase of US investment in China following China's entry into WTO, because there are "extraordinary" opportunities in the Chinese market.

"If the opportunity is there, the investment is going to be made," he said. "Money goes where it is welcome, where it is protected and where it can generate profit."

He said the Sino-US trade agreement on China's accession into WTO clinched last November and PNTR will create that type of environment for foreigners in China. "As the economy opens, I think you will see a significant increase in trade and the establishment of more factories and services to the Chinese economy," he said.

"As the economy opens, I think you will see a significant increase in trade and the establishment of more factories and services to the Chinese economy," he said.

In both countries, the agricultural, telecommunications, high-tech industries, direct-selling, aviation and manufacturing sectors will benefit the most from China's WTO membership.

Steve Van Andel, chairman of Amway Corp and vice-president of the chamber of commerce, said a headache now for US businesses in China is that there is a lot of uncertainty about how to operate in the market.

After China joins the WTO, there will be more certainty in the investment environment and with that certainty, "we are more comfortable and confident in our investments here," said Van Andel, who is set to become president of the chamber of commerce next year.

(China Daily September 24, 2001)