article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Communist China Subsidy Reduction Act of 1997''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds that-- (1) the People's Republic of China has enjoyed ready access to international capital through commercial loans, direct investment, sales of securities, bond sales, and foreign aid; (2) regarding international commercial lending, the People's Republic of China had $48,000,000,000 in loans outstanding from private creditors in 1995; (3) regarding international direct investment, international direct investment in the People's Republic of China from 1993 through 1995 totaled $97,151,000,000, and in 1996 alone totaled $47,000,000,000; (4) regarding investment in Chinese securities, the aggregate value of outstanding Chinese securities currently held by Chinese nationals and foreign persons is $175,000,000,000, and from 1993 through 1995 foreign persons invested $10,540,000,000 in Chinese stocks; (5) regarding investment in Chinese bonds, entities controlled by the Government of the People's Republic of China have issued 75 bonds since 1988, including 36 dollar- denominated bond offerings valued at more than $6,700,000,000, and the total value of long-term Chinese bonds outstanding as of January 1, 1996, was $11,709,000,000; (6) regarding international assistance, the People's Republic of China received almost $1,000,000,000 in foreign aid grants and an additional $1,566,000,000 in technical assistance grants from 1993 through 1995, and in 1995 received $5,540,000,000 in bilateral assistance loans, including concessional aid, export credits, and related assistance; and (7) regarding international financial institutions-- (A) despite the People's Republic of China's access to international capital and world financial markets, international financial institutions have annually provided it with more than $4,000,000,000 in loans in recent years, amounting to almost a third of the loan commitments of the Asian Development Bank and 17.1 percent of the loan approvals by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 1995; and (B) the People's Republic of China borrows more from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank than any other country, and loan commitments from those institutions to the People's Republic of China quadrupled from $1,100,000,000 in 1985 to $4,300,000,000 by 1995. SEC. 3. OPPOSITION OF UNITED STATES TO CONCESSIONAL LOANS TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. Title XV of the International Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262o-262o-1) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 1503. OPPOSITION OF UNITED STATES TO CONCESSIONAL LOANS TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Directors at each international financial institution (as defined in section 1702(c)(2) of the International Financial Institutions Act) to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose the provision by the institution of concessional loans to the People's Republic of China, any citizen or national of the People's Republic of China, or any entity established in the People's Republic of China. ``(b) Concessional Loans Defined.--As used in subsection (a), the term `concessional loans' means loans with highly subsidized interest rates, grace periods for repayment of 5 years or more, and maturities of 20 years or more.''. SEC. 4. PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD BE ADHERED TO BY ANY UNITED STATES NATIONAL CONDUCTING AN INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION PROJECT IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. (a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to create principles governing the conduct of industrial cooperation projects of United States nationals in the People's Republic of China. (b) Statement of Principles.--It is the sense of the Congress that any United States national conducting an industrial cooperation project in the People's Republic of China should: (1) Suspend the use of any goods, wares, articles, or merchandise that the United States national has reason to believe were mined, produced, or manufactured, in whole or in part, by convict labor or forced labor, and refuse to use forced labor in the industrial cooperation project. (2) Seek to ensure that political or religious views, sex, ethnic or national background, involvement in political activities or nonviolent demonstrations, or association with suspected or known dissidents will not prohibit hiring, lead to harassment, demotion, or dismissal, or in any way affect the status or terms of employment in the industrial cooperation project. The United States national should not discriminate in terms or conditions of employment in the industrial cooperation project against persons with past records of arrest or internal exile for nonviolent protest or membership in unofficial organizations committed to nonviolence. (3) Ensure that methods of production used in the industrial cooperation project do not pose an unnecessary physical danger to workers and neighboring populations or property, and that the industrial cooperation project does not unnecessarily risk harm to the surrounding environment; and consult with community leaders regarding environmental protection with respect to the industrial cooperation project. (4) Strive to establish a private business enterprise when involved in an industrial cooperation project with the Government of the People's Republic of China or other state entity. (5) Discourage any Chinese military presence on the premises of any industrial cooperation projects which involve dual-use technologies. (6) Undertake to promote freedom of association and assembly among the employees of the United States national. The United States national should protest any infringement by the Government of the People's Republic of China of these freedoms to the International Labor Organization's office in Beijing. (7) Provide the Department of State with information relevant to the Department's efforts to collect information on prisoners for the purposes of the Prisoner Information Registry, and for other reporting purposes. (8) Discourage or undertake to prevent compulsory political indoctrination programs from taking place on the premises of the industrial cooperation project. (9) Promote freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any media. To this end, the United States national should raise with appropriate authorities of the Government of the People's Republic of China concerns about restrictions on the free flow of information. (10) Undertake to prevent harassment of workers who, consistent with the United Nations World Population Plan of Action, decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children; and prohibit compulsory population control activities on the premises of the industrial cooperation project. (c) Promotion of Principles by Other Nations.--The Secretary of State shall forward a copy of the principles set forth in subsection (b) to the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and encourage them to promote principles similar to these principles. (d) Registration Requirement.-- (1) In general.--Each United States national conducting an industrial cooperation project in the People's Republic of China shall register with the Secretary of State and indicate that the United States national agrees to implement the principles set forth in subsection (b). No fee shall be required for registration under this subsection. (2) Preference for participation in trade missions.--The Secretary of Commerce shall consult the register prior to the selection of private sector participants in any form of trade mission to China, and undertake to involve those United States nationals that have registered their adoption of the principles set forth above. (e) Definitions.--As used in this section-- (1) the term ``industrial cooperation project'' refers to a for-profit activity the business operations of which employ more than 25 individuals or have assets greater than $25,000; and (2) the term ``United States national'' means-- (A) a citizen or national of the United States or a permanent resident of the United States; and (B) a corporation, partnership, or other business association organized under the laws of the United States, any State or territory thereof, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. SEC. 5. PROMOTION OF EDUCATIONAL, CULTURAL, SCIENTIFIC, AGRICULTURAL, MILITARY, LEGAL, POLITICAL, AND ARTISTIC EXCHANGES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA. (a) Exchanges Between the United States and China.--Agencies of the United States Government which engage in educational, cultural, scientific, agricultural, military, legal, political, and artistic exchanges shall endeavor to initiate or expand such exchange programs with regard to China. (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that a federally chartered not-for-profit organization should be established to fund exchanges between the United States and China through private donations. Passed the House of Representatives November 6, 1997. Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE, Clerk.
summary: Communist China Subsidy Reduction Act of 1997 - Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors at each international financial institution to vote to oppose the provision of concessional loans (with highly subsidized interest rates, grace periods for repayment of five years or more, and maturities of 20 years or more) to China, any Chinese citizen or national, or any Chinese entity. (Sec. 4) Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. nationals conducting industrial cooperation projects in China should adhere to certain principles, including: (1) suspending the use of any merchandise that they have reason to believe was produced by convict or forced labor, and refusing to use forced labor in their projects; (2) seeking to ensure that political or religious views, sex, ethnic or national background, or association with dissidents will not prohibit hiring, lead to harassment, demotion, or dismissal, or otherwise affect the employment status of an individual employed in the industrial cooperation project; (3) ensuring that methods of production used in the projects do not pose unnecessary danger to workers and the surrounding neighborhoods and environment; (4) striving to establish private business enterprises when involved in a project with the Government of China; (5) discouraging any military presence on the premises of the project; (6) promoting freedom of association and assembly among employees; (7) providing the Department of State with information relevant to its efforts to collect information on prisoners for purposes of the Prisoner Information Registry; (8) discouraging or preventing compulsory political indoctrination programs from taking place on project premises; (9) promoting freedom of expression of all kinds; and (10) preventing harassment of workers who decide freely the number and spacing of their children, and prohibiting compulsory population control activities on the premises of the project. Directs the Secretary of State to forward a copy of these principles to the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and encourage them to promote similar principles. Directs each U.S. national conducting an industrial cooperation project in China to register with the Secretary and indicate whether they agree to implement such principles. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to give preference to U.S. nationals who have adopted such principles when selecting participants for trade missions to China. (Sec. 5) Directs U.S. agencies that engage in educational, cultural, scientific, agricultural, military, legal, political, and artistic exchanges to initiate and expand such exchange programs with regard to China. Expresses the sense of the Congress that a federally chartered not-for-profit organization should be established to fund exchanges between the United States and China through private donations.