*EPF109 06/21/2004
Text: Evans Tells Young Chinese Their Future Depends on Economic Reform
(Commerce secretary says China must comply with WTO obligations) (1800)

"Make no mistake, your future as entrepreneurs and business leaders is directly linked to your government's economic reforms," U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans told students June 21 at the Harbin Institute of Technology, one of China's most prestigious universities.

"Let me be candid," Evans said. "There is concern over the failure to implement some of China's obligations under the WTO [World Trade Organization]. And there is concern about the pace of reform in China."

Evans said an open trading system "assumes that enterprises in one country will compete on equal terms with enterprises in another.... From the United States' perspective, free trade and open market access only works if both trading partners operate under the same rules and a good faith commitment to the spirit of all agreements and obligations."

The United States, he said, is "committed to working toward an open trading environment in which major economies are free of tariffs and trade barriers and the playing field is level. Our goal is fewer obstructions, not more."

Evans will spend four days in China, his first stop on an 11-day tour that includes visits to Ireland and Mexico. The commerce secretary has scheduled a series of high-level meetings to discuss trade, investment, and security issues.

While in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province and a thriving industrial and technological center, Evans visited the Harbin Electric Machinery Company, a state-owned manufacturing enterprise that is responding to changes in China's economic policies. He also visited the Harbin Children's Home, an orphanage established by the Harbin municipal government.

Following is the text of Evans' remarks, as prepared for delivery:

(begin text)

REMARKS BY
SECRETARY DONALD L. EVANS
HARBIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

HARBIN, CHINA

JUNE 21, 2004

(Text As Prepared for Delivery)

It's a special pleasure for me to meet with students at the prestigious Harbin Institute of Technology. This is my third trip to China, my first to Heilongjiang province. I've had the privilege of speaking to students in Beijing and Shanghai. I have been looking forward to this visit. In more ways than one, I think we speak the same language.

H.I.T. is a top technical university. It is renown for its advanced research and development programs. More recently, it has become one of China's leading business schools, attracting students from around the world. As you heard, my academic background is in engineering and business management.

There is a third link. H.I.T. has set up a high-tech park on campus to integrate product development and marketing. This learning tool is being used to strengthen the region's technology industries. I am in China to promote commercial partnerships and policies that can strengthen businesses here and at home, and lead to a higher quality of life for all. This will lead to strengthening our economies and growing jobs for American workers.

I believe, that like ripples in a stream, the benefits of an open and expanded trading relationship between our countries would flow outward from our nations to the broader global community. That's what I would like to discuss with you today.

When I was in Xian last October, China was celebrating the successful launch of the Shenzhou V. China had joined only two other countries in sending a human being on a voyage into space and bringing him back safely. Now China is preparing to send two or more astronauts into space next year for at least a week to conduct a number of experiments.

Science and technology are making yesterday's dreams, tomorrow's realities. That is your charge as China's new generation of entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers and innovators. You carry a proud legacy. Among your ancestors' numerous and great gifts were gunpowder, paper and ships capable of crossing broad oceans.

But you must be prepared for an ever more competitive, faster paced world.

Consider: It took 16 years for the first 50 million people to own a personal computer, but just five years for the first 50 million to be on the Internet.

I'd like to take a moment to recognize an American company, Rockwell Automation, for the role it's playing in helping you and other university students in China prepare for this new world.

Here at H.I.T., Rockwell's University Partnership Program is providing a complete laboratory with advanced technology equipment, scholarships and hands-on experience to students.

This university's strong programs in science, technology and business education will be a critical element in China's advancing economic development.

The openness to new ideas and a thoughtful critique of the rules governing the economy and business are the hallmarks of both a great university and a confident nation.

Whenever I speak to university students in the United States about their role in building our nation's future in the world of commerce, I remind them that there is an important moral element in their careers.

Responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to their care is required, as is a sustained commitment to economic, community and social progress.

There is also a moral element to free trade unfettered by government intervention in the marketplace. In broad terms, experience teaches us that expanded trade and open markets raise living standards and create jobs in both developed and developing countries.

President Bush and I share the belief that we all have a responsibility to leave the world a better place than we found it. Over the past three and a half years, I have traveled to 24 countries.

I have found that people everywhere want the same things: a roof over their head, food on the table, education for their children and work that will allow them to provide these things and contribute to a safer, more prosperous world.

I am convinced that each of you can contribute to the tremendous progress in China by building a free, competitive economy and expanding opportunity.

Since adopting market reforms in 1978, China has been among the world's fastest growing economies. This has led to dramatic escalation in our bilateral commercial relationship.

In 1986, total trade between the United States and China was $7.9 billion. By 2003, this total had reached $170 billion making China our third largest trading partner. This is the good news. But it's not the whole story.

From the United States' perspective, free trade and open market access only works if both trading partners operate under the same rules and a good faith commitment to the spirit of all agreements and obligations.

Let me be candid. There is concern over the failure to implement some of China's obligations under the WTO. And there is concern about the pace of reform in China. An open trading system assumes that enterprises in one country will compete on equal terms with enterprises in another.

Markets work best when they are free from government intervention. The Bush administration welcomes globalization. We are committed to free trade and fair competition.

We are committed to working toward an open trading environment in which major economies are free of tariffs and trade barriers and the playing field is level. Our goal is fewer obstructions, not more.

Make no mistake; your future as entrepreneurs and business leaders is directly linked to your government's economic reforms.

Economic reform has been a subject of my meetings here. Harbin is the far north's most economically vibrant city. Regional leaders would like to see the Northeast become the fourth great coastal area to attract significant trade and foreign investment through favorable economic policies.

Their goal is to emulate the successes of the Beijing-Tianjin corridor, the Pearl River Delta, and the Yangze River Delta during the 1980s and 1990s. This region is beginning to renew its industrial economic development through the "Revitalize the Northeast" initiative. This is being supported by China's central government.

As I have discussed with officials here, American companies would like to contribute to this revitalization and add to the $216 million in total trade we have with Heilongjiang. U.S. businesses are in a strong competitive position to contribute to the revitalization.

Several of our better-known large companies are already present: FiberGlass Systems, General Electric, John Deere, CocaCola and WalMart, as well as Kentucky Fried Chicken and the McDonald's that you may be more familiar with.

Earlier today I visited the Harbin Electric Machinery Company, which has a long-term manufacturing relationship with General Electric Power Systems to produce turbine generators.

The United States is the second largest contractual investor in the Province.

Many small and medium-sized American companies manufacture equipment that would be appropriate for Heilongjiang's revitalization needs. However, these suppliers are conservative in their approach to entering new markets. They look for and need an open and transparent economic environment.

Protecting intellectual property rights is another area where more progress is urgently needed throughout China. As future inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs, each of you deserves to have your products and ideas protected from theft.

Heilongjiang Province has taken a firm position on the issue of protecting intellectual property.

Enforcing intellectual property laws, and educating local manufacturers about how intellectual property infringement undermines their efforts to become competitive in China and worldwide, is an essential element of economic reform and long-term economic growth.

The pending conclusion of a contract between HAEFI Motor Company and Autodesk is a positive example of steps taken by an important manufacturer to legitimize software used in its product-design process.

I look forward to the time when more U.S. companies will establish a greater presence in this Province through their investment and through the exports that will build the economy and create jobs for you and your families and the families in America.

Let me close with this. Twenty years ago, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan spoke to the students at Fudan University in Shanghai. In his remarks, he said: "...the scholars at the universities in China and American have a great role to play in both our countries' futures. From your ranks will come the understanding and skill the world will require in decades to come. Today's leaders can pave the way of the future. That is our responsibility. But it is always the younger generation who will make the future."

Today you are that younger generation. As Chinese wisdom tells us, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. China has taken the first steps toward the enormous task of restructuring its economic system. As tomorrow's leaders, you will carry the torch that lights the way to this ultimate destination and to a safer, healthier, more prosperous world.

Thank you, and best wishes for great success in your chosen careers.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents