Case on Congressional Delegation to China

NEWS RELEASE July 30, 2005

Case on congressional delegation to China
Delegates to focus on international trade, military escalation and human rights issues

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ed Case (Hawaii) left Washington, D.C. today (July 30th) as part of an official ten-day bipartisan U.S. House delegation trip to the People's Republic of China.

The delegation is comprised of 12 U.S. House members, most of whom, like Case, belong to the U.S.-China Working Group, an organization of House Republicans and Democrats focused on elevating congressional and national awareness and discussion of China issues ranging from economic policies and trade to space exploration. The delegation's specific itinerary is not being released in advance for security reasons, but will include meetings with high-ranking government officials and others in Shanghai, Tibet, Yunnan and Beijing.

"Nobody with even passing familiarity with China's history or with its explosive economic, military and social growth can doubt that China is today playing a major role , and over the next decades will play a pivotal role, in writing the history of our world into the 21st Century," said Case. "The goal certainly of our country but also the rest of our world is that that role be one of positive contribution to international peace, security, stability and prosperity. It therefore behooves us all, especially decision-makers in our federal government, to not only understand, fully and realistically, what's going on in China, but to establish a solid rapport built on a foundation of business, economic, academic, scientific, social, political, cultural and other fields of mutual interest."

Case is a member of the U.S. House Small Business and Agriculture Committees, both with jurisdiction over segments of the U.S. economy positively and negatively affected by developments in China. He is also a member of the U.S. House Budget Committee, overseeing a federal budget under which China is now the fastest-growing creditor nation of our country.

"I will be taking a very close look at China's rapid and continuing military buildup, as just documented in the Secretary of Defense's annual report to Congress on 'The Military Power of the People's Republic of China 2005,' especially as it relates to the security of the Asia-Pacific region and our defense deployments in Hawaii," said Case. "I'll also be looking to identify and highlight opportunities for Hawaii business in China, ranging from potential imports to China of value-added and niche Hawaii agriculture products to enhanced tourism from China to Hawaii in the visitor, student and commercial markets."

http://wwwc.house.gov/case/press_releases/2005/2005-50.html