Agence France Presse
NEW YORK, April 24 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Monday called on the United States Congress to vote in favour of China's entry into the World Trade Organisation.
"The vote on China trade may be the most significant economic and national security decision Congress will make this year," she told a gala dinner at the World Trade Center in New York.
The dinner was hosted by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch as a prelude to Global Forum 2000, a half-day meeting of about 200 foreign and US dignitaries on the theme "What does the world expect from America?"
Among those scheduled to attend the forum were World Bank President James Wolfensohn, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
Albright was in New York to attend the five-yearly review conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) at the United Nations.
She told dinner guests she hoped that "those who represent us will vote "yes" for a more open China and a more inclusive world economy."
The US Senate is expected to vote in favour of permanent normalisation of trading relations with China, a precondition for that country's entry into the WTO.
Albright, anticipating opposition in the House of Representatives, said a favourable vote was "the right choice strategically, and the right choice for the Chinese people."
She added that it was also "the right choice for America economically, because the agreement will require China to further open its markets, without mandating any corresponding concessions from us."
Turning to globalisation in general, Albright said the United States "must help those hurt by change; but also reaffirm our belief that an open and competitive world economy is the best route to higher standards of living for people everywhere.":
