How China's employment problems became trade problems

Global Economy Journal

Volumn 10, Issue 3, 2010, Pages

  Aaronson, Susan ^a  

^a GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

China; employment; jobs; labor; rule of law; trade; WTO

Indexed keywords

EID: 78149302927     PISSN: 15245861     EISSN: 15245861     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2202/1524-5861.1635     Document Type: Article

References (208)

1. Ann Harrison and Margaret McMillian, "On the Links Between Globalization and Poverty," Journal of Economic Inequality (2007: 5) 123-134;
2. Hubert Escaith, Nannette Lindenberg, and Sebastien Miroudot, "International supply Chains and Trade Elasticity in times of global Crisis," 2/2010, 3, 5 at http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/20478/1/MPRA-paper- 20478.pdf;
3. for an interesting overview of the crisis, see the individual chapters in Richard Baldwin, "The Great Trade Collapse: Causes, Consequences and Prospects," at http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4297
4. ILO, "Global Employment Trends, January 2010, http://webdev.ilo.org/ empelm/what/pubs/lang-en/docName-WCMS-120471/index.htm. Some 21% or 633 million workers work and live on less than $1.25 a day and some 40% live on some $2.00 a day.
5. ILO, "Global Employment Trends," January 2009, 7, 9, at http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/-dgreports/-dcomm/documents/publication/ wcms-101461.pdf and http://www.stwr.org/global-financial-crisis/financial- crisis-unemployment-working-poor-and-vulnerable-employment-to-increase.html
6. Policymakers struggle to get out of a recession with high unemployment. Credit defaults are highly correlated with the unemployment rate, so as unemployment rises, defaults rise, and defaults impair bank capital, causing a further tightening of credit. Tight credit makes it harder for business to invest in people or technologies, and the failure to do so, will keep unemployment high.
7. For an interesting analysis, see, Gunter Schucher, "China's Employment Crisis-A Stimulus for Policy Change? Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 38, 2, 121-144.
8. Information Office of the State Council, "China's Employment Situation and Policies," 4/26/2004, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/ doc/2004-04/26/content-326356.htm
9. Geoff Dyer, "China Sets Sights on 8% Economic Growth," Financial Times, 3/5/2009, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/47bce284-0929-11de-b8b0- 0000779fd2ac.
10. China Daily, "China Pledges More Measures to Promote Employment, 3/5/2009, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009npc/2009-03/05/content-7538891. htm
11. The International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU) noted that in many countries workers have been threatened by employers with relocation, outsourcing and downsizing. In some industrialized countries, the ICFTU found that employers are increasingly relying on contract labor, third-party labor agency employment which has eroded incomes, labor conditions and rights at work. http://survey09.ituc-csi.org/survey.php?IDContinent=0&Lang=EN; and http://survey09.ituc-csi.org/survey.php?&mode=pr&IDCont=0&Lang=EN
12. Scholars may debate whether the accession protocol aimed simply to ensure the effectiveness of WTO multilateral disciplines or to help China transform into a market based economy governed by the rule of law. See Julia Ya Qin "The Challenge of Interpreting "WTO Plus Provisions," Wayne State University Law School Legal Studies Research paper Series No. 09-18, 7/2/2009, 40-43.
13. The accession agreement is at http://www.mac.doc.gov/China/ WTOAccessionPackage.htm.
14. Kenneth Dam, "China as a Test Case: Is the Rule of law Essential for Economic Growth?" http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id= 880125. See especially fn. 205.
15. On labor law, http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/labor+law
16. These rights are delineated under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
17. http://www.ilo.org/global/About-the-ILO/Origins-and-history/lang-en/ index.htm
18. Drusilla K. Brown, "Labor Standards: Where do they Belong on the International Trade Agenda," Tufts University Working Paper, 2001, pp. 29-31, http://ase.tufts.edu/econ/papers/200113.pdf;
19. and Kyle Bagwell and Robert W. Staiger, "The Simple Economics of Labor Standards and the GATT," NBER Working Paper No. 6604, 1998.
20. Negotiating Group on dispute Settlement, "Non-violation complaints Under GATT Article XXIII: 2, Note by the Secretariat, MTN.GNG/NG13/W/31, at http://www.worldtradelaw.net/history/urdsu/w31.pdf;
21. and Jean Monnet Center, Evolution of Non-violation Cases, centers.law.nyu.edu/jeanmonnet/papers98/98-9-html.
22. http://wss.hkcampus.net/~wss-6489/en/02/020126.html;
23. Nicholas Lardy, "China and the World Trade Organization: Problems on the road to Liberalization," http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/ documents/apcity/unpan003154.pdf;
24. Martin G. Hu, "WTO's Impact on the Rule of Law in China," Mansfield Dialogues in Asia;
25. and WTO, "WTO Ministerial Conference Approves China's Accession," http://www.wto.org/english/news-e/pres01-e/pr252-e.htm.
26. According to Bloomberg news, "Foreign direct investment surged 103 percent from a year earlier in December to $12.1 billion, the Ministry of Commerce reported in Beijing today. The value was the second highest on record, according to Bloomberg data." Investment in China fell 2.6 percent in all of 2009 to $90.03 billion as the global crisis sapped companies' finances. China's non-financial outbound investment rose 6.5 percent to $43.3 billion. Bloomberg, "China Says U.S. Is Backsliding on Trade, Warns on Google (Update 2), 1/15/2010, http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01- 15/china-says-u-s-backsliding-on-trade-warns-on-google-update2-.html
27. Testimony of John Frisbie, President, U.S.-China Business Council, "China's Implementation of Its World Trade Organization Commitments," Trade Policy Staff Committee Hearing, 10/2/2009, http://www.uschina.org/public/ documents/2009/10/wto-testimony.pdf.
28. For an overview of china's imports and exports, see www.uschina.org/ statistics/tradetable.html, up to date for 2008.
29. Commission on Growth, "The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development," 2009, 93-94, The Commission on Growth and Development was set up to examine the policies and strategies that underlie rapid and sustained growth and poverty reduction. It was chaired by Nobel Laureate Michael Spence, and Danny Leipziger, Vice-President, World Bank, was the Commission's Vice-Chair. http://www.growthcommission.org/index.php?option= com-content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=58
30. Shaun Breslin, "Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: the Public, the Private and the International," Working Paper 104, 2004, 3, http://wwwarc.murdoch.edu.au/wp/wp104.pdf;
31. and Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick, "The End of Chimerica," Harvard Business School Working Paper, 10-037, 2009, p. 14-15.
32. Bradsher, "Defying global Slump, China has Labor Shortage."
33. Morrison, "China's Economic Conditions," 5-6;
34. and Economist, "Secret Sauce: China's rapid growth is due not just to heavy investment but also to the world's fastest productivity gains, 11/12/2009
35. Wang Dewen, Cai Fang and Gao Wenshu, "Globalization and Internal Labor Mobility in China: New Trend and Policy Implications," 2006, http://iple.cass.cn/file/51.pdf;
36. The World Bank, "Interview with David Dollar and Louis Kuijs on China Quarterly Update," 3/26/2009 http://discuss.worldbank.org/content/ interview/detail/9164/;
37. and Cai Fang, Du Yang and Wang meiyan, Human Development Research Paper, 2009/09, http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2009/papers/HDRP-2009-09.pdf
38. Under Chinese law, Chinese citizens were divided into two groups urban and rural. Rural workers were supposed to stay on the farm, as part of China's hukou (registration system. But many firms rely on these migrants for relatively cheap labor and the migrants want factory jobs. However, those without urban registration are often treated as second class citizens. NA "Migration in China: Invisible and Heavy shackles," The Economist, 5/6/2010, www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story-id=16058750
39. Gunter Schucher, "China's Employment Crisis-A Stimulus for Policy Change? Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 2/2009, 121-144;
40. Virtual Review, China News and Opinion, http://virtualreview.org/china/ zoom/824399/chinas-employment-in-grim-situation-amid-global-crisis;
41. and Peoples' Daily, "Chinese Premier Discusses Financial Crisis with World Bank Head," http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/ 6554780.html.
42. U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2009 Annual Report to Congress, Executive Summary, 4, http://www.uscc.gov/annual-report/2009/ executive-summary.pdf
43. Dani Rodrik, "What's so Special About China's Exports?" paper prepared for China and the global Economy, 2010;
44. Pranab Bardhan, 'Challenges for China at sixty - Part I," Yaleglobal, http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/challenges-china-sixty-%E2%80%93- part-i;
45. and Paul Krugman, "Chinese New Year," New York Times, 12/31/2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/opinion/01krugman.html.
46. Michael Dooley, David Folkerts-Landau and Peter Garber "An Essay on the Revived Bretton-Woods System", NBER Working Paper No. 9971, September, 2003;
47. and Michael Wines, "China's Economic Power Unsettles the Neighbors," New York Times, 12/9/2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/ world/asia/10jakarta.html. The recent revelations that Chinese hackers had hacked into Google have led some companies to consider (or reconsider) abandoning China despite its huge potential market. Steven Mufson and Peter Whoriskey, "Does China's big market come with a bigger headache?" Washington Post, 1/15/2010, A14.
48. US Trade Representative, "2010 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers," China, 10-12, http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/ files/uploads/reports/2010/NTE/2010-NTE-China-final.pdf
49. Quotation from Jamil Anderlini, "Rule of the Iron Rooster," Financial Times, 8/25/2009, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f41d5786-910d-11de-bc99- 00144feabdc0.html?nclick-check=1
50. Gregory C. Chow, "The Impact of Joining WTO on China's Economic, Legal and Political Institution," Speech at City University of Hong Kong, 3/22/2001, www.princeton.edu/~gchow/WTO.pdf
51. Congressional Executive Commission on China, 2009 Annual Report, 1, quotation p. 5.
52. In 2005 China officially removed the peg to the dollar, and the yuan gradually became stronger, moving from 8.35 to the dollar to about 6.8 in July 2008. But with the financial crisis they again made the link and tried to prevent the yuan from strengthening. The yuan has fallen against the Euro since 2005. Wayne M. Morrison and Mark Labonte, "China's Currency: A Summary of the Economic Issues," CRS Report, 12/7/2009, RS21625;
53. Ernest Preeg, "Free Trade Agreements in Asia: US Exports at Risk and Much More," Manufacturers Alliance, 2/2009, http://www.aei.org/docLib/ Asian%20FTAs.pdf;
54. Stephen Castle and Carter Doughterty, "EU to Press China Over Yuan," New York Times, 11/23/2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/ business/worldbusiness/23iht-currency.5.8461214.html;
55. and James A. Reddy, "EU voices Frustration with China's Currency Policy," Wall Street Journal, 12/28/2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/ SB10001424052748703939404574565271054376320.html
56. On a bilateral basis, the yuan is undervalued by 41 percent against the U.S. dollar, according to a January 2010 study by the Institute for International Economics. John Williamson and William Cline, "Notes on Equilibrium Exchange Rates," PB 10-2, http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/ pb10-02.pdf
57. Also see http://blogs.ft.com/economistsforum/2009/12/why-china%E2%80%99s- exchange-rate-policy-concerns-us/;
58. and Knowledge at Wharton, "The Costs of China's Currency policy," 1/21/10 at http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/21/china-currency-policy- entrepreneurs-finance-wharton.html?boxes=Homepagechannels
59. Ferguson and Schularick, "The End of Chimerica," p. 14-15;
60. and Judith Banister, "Manufacturing in China today: Employment and labor compensation," EPWP, The Conference Board, September 2007, pp. 4-5 http://www.conference-board.org/worldwide/china.cfm.
61. See as example, Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor, The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2003);
62. Radio Netherlands, "Global Companies "forced" to move to china," 1/21/2010, http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/global-companies- forced-move-china;
63. Wayne M. Morrison, "China's economic conditions, CRS Report for Congress, RL-33534, 12/11/2009 at http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33534.pdf
64. IMF, World economic Outlook, Chapter 5, The globalization of Labor, 169-172, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/01/pdf/c5.pdf
65. Richard B. Freeman, "Are your Wages Set in Beijing?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 9, # 3, Summer, 1995, 30;
66. Richard B. Freeman, "Trade Wars: the Exaggerated Impact of Trade in Economic Debate," NBER Working Paper no. 10000, September 2003;
67. and Gordon H. Hanson, and Raymond Robertson, "China and the manufacturing Exports of Other Developing countries," NBER Working Paper 14497, September 2008, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id= 1305507##.
68. The Rotman School at the University of Toronto had an interesting conference on this issue. Offshore Outsourcing: Capitalizing on Lessons Learned,", http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/offshoring
69. Paul Krugman, "Chinese New Year," New York Times, 12/31/2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/opinion/01krugman.html.
70. Adrian Wood and Jorg Mayer, "Has China de-industrialized Other Developing countries?' Working Paper 175, QEH, November 2009;
71. and Daniel Lederman, Marcelo Olarreaga and Eliana Rubiano, "Trade Specialization in Latin America: The impact of China and India," Review of World Economics, Vol. 144, No. 2 July 2008.
72. Also see Betina Dimaranan, Elena Ianchovichina, and Will Martin, "China, India, and the Future of the World Economy: Fierce Competition or Shared Growth?" World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 4304, August 2007. While Lederman, Olarreaga and Rubiano find significant effects in Latin America, Adrian Wood and Jorg Mayer find the de-industrializing effect was clearest in East Asia
73. Giordano Mion, Hylke Vandenbussche, and Linke Zhu, "Trade with China and Skill Upgrading: Evidence from Belgian Firm level Date," 10/2009, LICOS Discussion Paper no. 248;
74. Nigel Driffield and P.C. Chiang, "The Effect of Offshoring to China: Reallocation, Employment and Productivity in Taiwan," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Vol. 16, 1, 2/2009, pp. 19-38.
75. One of the earliest working papers was Marian Jansen, "International Trade and the Position of European Unskilled Labor." WTO Working Paper, 2001, http://www.wto.org/english/res-e/reser-e/ae0001-e.htm
76. Alberto Isgut, "The Effect of Imports from China on Canada's labor markets: Your Wages are Not Set in Beijing," http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/ offshoring/Ch12.pdf
77. Xikang Chen, Leonard K. Cheng et al, "Domestic Value Added and Employment Generated by Chinese Exports: A Quantitative Estimation," Revised 2008, http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/15663/1/MPRA-paper-15663.pdf
78. Marion Jansen and Eddy Lee for the ILO and WTO, Trade and Employment: Challenges for Policy Research, 16, 45. http://www.wto.org/english/res-e/booksp- e/ilo-e.pdf
79. European Business in China "Position Paper 2009-2010," Executive summary, 9-13; at http://www.euccc.com.cn/view/media/publications;
80. and U.S. China Business Council 2009 Member Priorities Survey Results, "US Companies China Outlook," 14-17, http://www.uschina.org/public/ documents/2009/10/uscbc-member-survey.pdf
81. http://www.ajc.com/business/business-brings-jobs-back-491886.html;
82. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/2242665/ Steiff-teddy-bears-abandon-China.html;
83. http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,569861,00.html;
84. and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36021136. Each company had different reasons for leaving China.
85. European Business in China "Position Paper 2009-2010," Executive Summary;
86. USTR, 2009 National Trade Estimates Report, http://www.ustr.gov/sites/ default/files/uploads/reports/2009/NTE/asset-upload-file868-15464.pdf;
87. and U.S. China Business Council 2009 Member Priorities Survey Results, "US Companies China Outlook, 2009" 9-13.
88. Global brands and retailers put tremendous pressure on manufacturers and suppliers to keep costs from rising. AFL CIO, Representative Benjamin L. Cardin and Christopher Smith, Section 301 Petition before the US Trade Representative, 6/8/2006, 44-47; and Department of State, 2008 Human Rights Report: China, www.state.gov/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm#.
89. In indicators of the rule of law, china ranks relatively low. See as example, World trade Indicators at http://info.worldbank.org/etools/wti/2b1.asp? pillarID=1&indList=66,118,152,156,157,158,159,41 0,161,190&cid= 41&comparator=i2&vr=Value&timeperiod1=t1&timeperiod2= t2&timeperiod3=t 3&timeperiod4=16 or for rankings, http://info. worldbank.org/etools/wti/2b1.asp?pillarID=1&indList=66,118,152,156,157,158, 159,41 0,161,190&cid=41&comparator=i2&vr=Rank&timeperiod1= t1&timeperiod2=t2&timeperiod3=t3&timeperiod4=16.
90. European Business in China "Position Paper 2009-2010 http://www.euccc.com.cn/view/media/publications;
91. David Barbuda and Brad Stone, "China, Where U.S. Internet Companies Often Fail," New York Times 1/15/2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/ technology/16failure.html;
92. and Steven Mufson and Peter Whoriskey, "Does China's Big market Come with a bigger headache?" Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011402482.html
93. Susan Ariel Aaronson, Trade and the American Dream: A Social History of Postwar Trade Policy (Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1996), pp. 17-40. This is an archival history of the ITO, GATT, and WTO. See pp. 17-40.
94. The Havana Charter at http://www.worldtradelaw.net/misc/havana.pdf
95. Aaronson, Trade and the American Dream, 5, 114-132
96. and William Diebold, Jr. "The End of the I.T.O.," Essays in International Finance 16, (October 1952), 1-37. Many factors contributed to the demise of the ITO including changing international circumstances, party politics, special interest opposition and Truman Administration ambivalence.
97. Susan Ariel Aaronson, Taking Trade to the Streets: The Lost History of Public Efforts to shape Globalization (Ann Arbor: Michigan, 2001), pp 54-55, fns. 110-112.
98. http://www.wto.org/english/docs-e/legal-e/index-g-e.htm
99. Steve Charnovitz, "The (Neglected) Employment dimension of the World Trade Organization," Accepted Paper, at ssrn.com/abstract=680141. Charnovitz notes the preamble is actionable. He says that "In its decision in the Tariff Preferences case, the Appellate Body stated that the Preamble "informs" all WTO covered agreements." European Communities - Conditions for the Granting of Tariff Preferences to Developing Countries, Report of the Appellate Body, WT/DS246/AB/R, para. 161 (adopted 20 April 2004).
100. Commission on Growth and Development, "The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development, 2009, 93-94.
101. For an excellent overview of the debate, see Mita Aggarwal, International Trade, Labor Standards and Labor Market Conditions: An Evaluation of the Linkages, US International Trade Commission Working Paper 95-06-C, 1995;
102. David Kucera, "The Effect of Core Workers Rights on labour costs and foreign Direct Investment: Evaluating the Conventional Wisdom," International Institute for Labour Studies Discussion Paper 130, 2001;
103. and Drusilla Brown, "International Trade and Core Labor Standards: A Review of the Literature," Department of Economics, Tufts Discussion Paper, 2000-05 http://ase.tufts.edu/econ/papers/200005.pdf
104. OECD, "Trade, Employment and Labour Standards: A Study of Core Workers Rights and International Trade," 1996.
105. Article 2, ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, International Labour Conference, 86th Session, Geneva, 1998. http://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang-en/index.htm
106. http://www.wto.org/english/res-e/reser-e/wkshop-aug09-e/wkshop-aug09-e. htm
107. Spain provides an interesting example of this phenomenon. In recent years, many immigrants from Latin America came to Spain, but not surprisingly these immigrants were among the first to experience unemployment with the downturn. Many left Spain to find new jobs elsewhere, but that out-migration led to a further decline in exports. According to Giovanni Peri and Francisco Requena, with fewer immigrants, Spanish exporters found fewer markets abroad. They concluded, "Such a negative impact on export may actually exacerbate the negative effect of recession on GDP." Peri Giovanni and Francisco Requena (2009) "The Trade Creation Effect of Immigrants: Evidence from the Remarkable Case of Spain", NBER Working Paper # 15625, November, 2009.
108. G-20, Declaration, "Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy," 11/15/2008, http://www.g20.org/Documents/g20-summit-declaration. pdf
109. London Summit Communiqué: A Plan for Global Recovery and Reform," 4/2/2009, http://www.pittsburghsummit.gov/resources/125131.htm
110. According Trade Alert, an international monitoring organization, the US has 46 such measures (either proposed or adopted) while China has 29. The difference in the number of "protectionist" measures may reflect greater democracy and transparency in the US rather than greater protectionist intent or actions. http://www.globaltradealert.org/measure?tid=All&tid-1= 494&tid-3=All
111. WTO, "Report on G20 Trade and Investment Measures," 9/14/2009, See Annex 1 and 2. See pp. 26-27 for China's measures.
112. WTO Trade Policy Review Body, WT/TPR/OV/12, p. A-35.
113. G-20, "Leaders Statement: The Pittsburgh Summit," 9/24-25/2009, http://www.pittsburghsummit.gov/mediacenter/129639.htm
114. WTO, "Understanding the WTO," http://www.wto.org/english/ thewto-e/whatis-e/tif-e/fact1-e.htm; and Address by James Bacchus, Chairman, Appellate Body, WTO, "Groping Towards Grotius: the WTO and the International Rule of Law,"
115. http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/faq/Rule-of-Law.shtml. Scholars generally define the rule of law as a system that attempts to protect the rights of citizens from arbitrary and abusive use of government power. The rule of law thus assures market participants that the government will adopt a hands-off approach to investments and production, allowing those participants to fully exercise their rights in relation to land, labor and capital. The rule of law helps set the "rules of the game" in critical areas such as investments, property, and contracts. The rule of law also serves as an important assurance of social rights and government accountability. Governmental restraint is especially critical for many transitioning economies where a previously planned economy is to be transformed into one that is market-based. When the government is no longer the sole owner of land, capital, and labor, the rule of law guarantees that the crucial elements of the economy will be free from arbitrary governmental actions
116. Robert Keohane, Andrew Moravsik, and Stephen Macedo, "Democracy- Enhancing Multilateralism," International Organization (Winter 2009), 18.
117. While complaints based upon an alleged "failure of another contracting party to carry out its obligations under this Agreement" (Article XXIII:1(a)) are sometimes referred to as "violation complaints", complaints invoking Article XXIII:1(b) have in a few instances been denoted as "non-violation complaints" 1 or as being based on "the well-established principle of non-violation nullification or impairment". 2 But the term "non-violation complaint" has never been precisely defined by GATT contracting parties.
118. Breslin, "Capitalism with Chinese," 15-19.
119. WTO, "Accession of the People's Republic of China, Decision of 10 November 2001," WT/L/432, (A) 1, 2, http://www.wto.org.
120. Julia Ya Qin, "The Challenge, 4-6.
121. Ibid. Sections (B), (C), 3.
122. Karen Halverson, "China's WTO Accession," and China Trade Policy Review, WT/TPR/S/199, x-xi.
123. Ya Qin, "China, India, and the Law," 18-19.
124. Trade Policy review, China, Minutes of Meeting, WT/TPR/M/199, May 21, 23, 2008, 99.
125. Douglas Zhihua Zeng, "China's Employment Challenges and Strategies after the WTO Accession, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 3522, 2/2005, 2, http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/137740/Zeng3522.pdf;
126. China's State Council, November 200: http://www.mingong123.com/news/13/ 200811/e0662ce6a21a2a9f.html;
127. and Ray Brooks and Ran Tao, "China's Labor Market Performance and Challenges," IMF Working Paper WP/03/210, 11/2003, Table 1.
128. Dic Lo, "What Are the macro Drivers of Growth Employment and Income in the Chinese Economy-A Case Study in Policy Coherence and Sequencing," Prepared for the ILO, June 2007, 6-7, http://www.networkideas.org/ideasact/ Jun07/Beijing-Workshop-07/Dic-Lo.pdf
129. European Business in China, Position Paper, "Human Resources Forum," 66, http://www.euccc.com.cn/images/documents/pp-2009-2010/human- resources-en.pdf
130. and Wang Wei, "Cold Winter for Law Graduates," China Daily, 1/5/2010 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/metro/2010-01/05/content-9265492.htm;
131. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-01/20/content-7412656.htm
132. UNDP, "Toward Human Development with Equity," China Human Development Report,
133. China Labor Bulletin, "Going it Alone: The Workers movement in China," 7/9/2009, 35 at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/files/share/File/research- reports/workers-movement-07-08.pdf. Pages 14-57, 13, 35-37.
134. Breslin, "Capitalism with Chinese."
135. Lo, "What Are," 29-33.
136. Neil Gouh, "Trouble on the Line," Time Asia, 1/23/2005 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1019909,00.html#ixzz0bbjAfYQH
137. The revised law requires employment contracts for all workers; minimum terms implied by law or collective agreement if no written contract; limits continuous casual employment; but, part-time workers who average less than 24 hours/week may be hired without contract and on at-will basis; employer must allow unions; and finally, employers must consult with the union before adopting or changing policies that have a "direct bearing" on matters of interest to employees. Workplace Professor Blog, http://lawprofessors.typepad. com/laborprof-blog/2007/07/labor-law-refor.html
138. Harper Ho, Virginia E., "From Contracts to Compliance? An Early Look At Implementation Under China's New Labor Legislation," 2008, 2. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=1432708.
139. Earl V. Brown, Jr., Solidarity Center, "Testimony to the Congressional Executive Commission on China," 6/19/2009, at www.cecc.gov.
140. US Department of State, 2008 Human Rights Report: China, www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm#
141. Harper Ho, Virginia E., "From Contracts to Compliance?"
142. and Aaron Halegua, "Getting Paid: Processing the labor disputes of china's Migrant workers," Berkeley Journal of International Law, Vol 26, no. 1, 320-322.
143. Sean Cooney, "Making Chinese labor law Work: The Prospects for Regulatory Innovation in the People's Republic of China," University of Melbourne, Legal Studies Research Paper No. 282.
144. Department of State, "2008 Human rights Report: China,"
145. -2009 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau) http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eap/135989.htm
146. US China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2009 Report to Congress, p. 67, fns 285-288. www.uscc.gov/annual-report/2009/09report-chapters. php
147. US Trade Representative, The President's 2010 Trade Policy Agenda, 8-9, http://www.ustr.gov/webfm-send/1673
148. US Trade Representative, National Trade Estimate Report, China, 2010, http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/reports/2010/NTE/ 2010-NTE-China-final.pdf
149. http://www.ituc-csi.org/2009-survey-of-violations-of-trade,3789.html? lang=en;
150. and http://www.china-labour.org.hk/en/node/100560
151. http://survey09.ituc-csi.org/survey.php?IDContinent=3&IDCountry= CHN&Lang=EN
152. China Labor Watch, "Wal-Mart Standards Fail, Workers Suffer, November 2009, www.chinalaborwatch.org.
153. China Labor Watch, "Investment giant KKR Profits from Dollar General's Poor labor Record, Report Shows," December 22, 2009, http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/20091222kkrdollargeneral.htm
154. Shenzhen Dagongzhe Migrant Worker Center, "New Ongoing Violations after the Implementation of labor contract law in China," 6/12/2009, www.workerempowerment.org/en/newsletter/18. Other examples of violations are at http://www.china-labour.org.hk/en/node/100019
155. Alexandra Stevenson, "Labor law-One Year-On," China International business magazine, 1/7/2009 http://www.cibmagazine.com.cn/ Features/Trend.asp?id=786&labor-law-one-year-on.html
156. European business in China Position paper 2009-2010, "Human resources forum," 66-69, quotation on p. 69, http://www.euccc.com.cn/ images/documents/pp-2009-2010/human-resources-en.pdf
157. The International Trade Union Committee Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights said, "Provincial regulations issued in 2008 may however help develop more detailed contracts and a more genuine form of negotiation process. Several cities and provinces issued regulations which deal either with the implementation of existing labor legislation or give more details on collective contract procedures and contents." http://survey09.ituc-csi.org/ survey.php?IDContinent=3&IDCountry=CHN&Lang=EN
158. Ho, "From Contracts to compliance," 61;
159. and China Labor Bulletin, 'Labor Disputes Escalate in Beijing," December 2009, http://www.china-labour.org.hk/en/node/100628
160. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/29346/20100618/toyota-supplier-strike-is - chinas-latest-labour-woe.htm;-lab or
161. and http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/10/news/international/china
162. U.S. China Business Council 2009 Member Priorities Survey Results, "US Companies China Outlook: Recession Strings, but does not End Market Optimism," Executive Summary, 4-5, 17-18.
163. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/unemployment-around-the- world;
164. "Economists: rising unemployment becomes China's top challenge," China view, 2/09/2009 at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/ 2009-02/07/content-10778188.htm;
165. and China's efforts to create more jobs pay off: minister, China View, 12/19/2009, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/19/content-12672696.htm;
166. and Tyler Cowen, "Economic View: Dangers of an Overheated China," New York Times, 11/28/2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/ business/economy/29view.html;
167. and NA, China's Employment Situation "Grave", Minister, China Daily 3/10/2009 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009npc/2009-03/10/content- 7561971.htm
168. Jamil Anderlini, "China battles unemployment to deter unrest" Financial Times, 12/12/2008;
169. Douglas Zhihua Zeng, "China's Employment Challenges and Strategies After the WTO Accession," World Bank Policy research Working Paper 3522, February, 2005;
170. and Bhalla, A. S. and S. Qiu, "China's Accession to WTO: Its Impact on Chinese Employment." UNCTD discussion paper, No. 163, November 2002.
171. Xinhua, "China Won't revise labor contract law amid financial Crisis: Lawmaker," 3/9/2009,
172. U.S. China Business Council 2009 Member Priorities Survey Results, "US Companies China Outlook," 17-18. http://www.ituc-csi.org/foxconn- suicides-governments-and.html
173. China Labor bulletin, Research Reports: Going it Alone: The Workers movement in china (2007-2008), 7/9/2009, 10, at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/files/ share/File/research-reports/workers-movement-07-08.pdf
174. Steel Workers Laid-off and rehired as temporary employees for lower pay," 222.china-loabour.org.hk/en/node/100400
175. Peoples Daily, (Xinhua), "Chinese employment attitudes changed by global financial crisis," 2/20/2010, http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ 90001/90776/90882/6897043.html
176. David Barboza, "Honda Says China's Workers to End Strikes, Take Raise," New York Times, 6/1/2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/ business/global/02strike.html
177. http://www.ituc-csi.org/foxconn-suicides-governments-and.html;
178. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7002814.html;
179. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/98986/7002512.html;
180. Keith Bradsher and David Barboza, Strike in China Highlights Gap in
181. David Pierson, "New Generation of Chinese Workers may Not Put up with Low pay, Brutal Hours," 6/1/2010, Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-labor-20100602,0,2573020.story;
182. and Kathryn Hille, "China: Showing the Strain," Financial Times, 5/28/2010, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6ef9ae1e-668d-11df-aeb1- 00144feab49a.html
183. Björn Etgen and Egmont Seeber China: Government Procurement In China: Can You Get A Piece Of The Pie?, 9/2009, at http://www.mondaq.com/ article.asp?articleid=85690;
184. and Baker Hostetler, "China Law Blog, http://www. chinaustradelawblog.com/articles/strategic-economic-dialogue-1/ Circular 1361 was issued by the national Development and Reform commission, http://english.sina.com/business/2008/1109/197321.html for a timeline; and http://english.sina.com/z/090226stimuluspackage/index.shtml. The opinion on how to source was Circular 1361, Opinions on the Implementation of Decisions on Expanding Domestic Demand and Promoting Economic Growth and Further Strengthening Supervision of Tendering and Bidding for Construction Projects.
185. US Trade Representative, 2009 National Trade Estimate, 14, http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/reports/2009/NTE/ asset-upload-file868-15464.pdf
186. Plastemart, "China's stimulus spending fuels massive overexpansion could lead to protectism" 11/27/2009, http://www.plastemart.com/ Plasticnews-desc.asp?news-id=16659;
187. http://english.sina.com/z/090226stimuluspackage/index.shtml;
188. and Keith Bradsher, As China Stirs Economy, Some See Protectionism," 6/24/2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/business/economy/24yuan.html?-r=1
189. rd GTA Report, 2009, 84, at http://www.voxeu.org/ reports/GTA3.pdf
190. US China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2009 Report to Congress, p. 4
191. Wayne M. Morrison, "China's Economic Conditions," CRS Report for Congress, RL33534, 7.
192. Karen Halverson, "China's WTO Accession," http://www.bc.edu/ schools/law/lawreviews/meta-elements/journals/bciclr/27-2/06-TXT.htm;
193. and Ya Qin, Trade, investment," 722.
194. Dragon Nightmares: The European Union Finds it Hard to Agree over How to Deal With China," Economist, 4/16/2009; http://www.delchn.ec.europa.eu/ home-link-ategy.htm
195. and http://www.delchn.ec.europa.eu/euch-poli3.htm.
196. US Trade Representative, The President's 2010 Trade Policy Agenda, 8-9, http://www.ustr.gov/webfm-send/1673
197. US Trade Representative, "2010 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers," China, http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/ uploads/reports/2010/NTE/2010-NTE-China-final.pdf
198. The report used newspaper reports as evidence of U.S. labor and human rights failures. The "unemployment rate in the U.S. in 2009 was the highest in 26 years. Nearly 16 million people were jobless, with 5.6 million, or 35.6 percent of the unemployed, being out of work for more than half a year (The New York Times, November 13, 2009). In September, about 1.6 million young workers, or 25 percent of the total, were jobless, the highest since 1948 when records were kept (The Washington Post, September 7, 2009). In the week ending on March 7, 2009, the continuing jobless claims in the U.S. were 5.47 million, higher than the previous week's 5.29 million (http://247wallst.com, March 19, 2009). "Full Text of Human Rights Record of the United States in 2009," http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-03/12/c-13208219-4.htm
199. Brown, "Testimony: Congressional-Executive Commission," 11;
200. OECD Investment Policy Review: China 2008, Chapter 4: Encouraging Responsible Business Conduct in China," 148-158 and 171-179. http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=613;
201. and China Business Review: Special Report: Corporate Responsibility in China: Best Practices, May-June 2009, www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0905/ corporate-responsibility⋯. Michael Santoro believes business can make a big difference by demanding the rule of law. Michael Santoro, "Soft Seat on the long March: Foreign Business and the Rule of Law in China,", 2/5/2009, at ssrn.com/abstract=1415902
202. U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2009 Report, 67;
203. and "Nike Repudiates Am Cham Position on Chinese Law Reform," 12/20/2006; http://www.itglwf.org/DisplayDocument.aspx?idarticle= 15269&langue=2;
204. Foreign Policy in focus, "Labor rights in China," 12/19/2006, http://www.fpif.org/articles/labor-rights-in-china
205. Negotiating Group on dispute Settlement, "Non-violation complaints Under GATT Article XXIII:2, Note by the Secretariat, MTN.GNG/NG13/W/31, at http://www.worldtradelaw.net/history/urdsu/w31.pdf;
206. and Jean Monnet Center, Evolution of Non-violation Cases, centers.law.nyu.edu/jeanmonnet/papers98/98-9-html.
207. Joost Pauwelyn, Conflict of Norms in Public International Law: How WTO Law Relates to Other Rules of International Law, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 456.
208. Comments of Simon Lester, International Economic Law and Policy Blog, http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/ielpblog/2010/01/nonviolation-complaints-and- the-enforcement-of-labor-laws.html