Number: RL31164
Title: China: Labor Conditions and Unrest
Authors: Thomas Lum, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: U.S. Congressional goals and concerns regarding Chinese labor include supporting labor rights and preventing the import of goods from the PRC that were made from prison, sweatshop, or child labor. P.L. 106-286, authorizing permanent normal trade relations treatment to the PRC, establishes a Congressional-Executive Commission on the PRC to monitor China's compliance with international human rights standards, including worker rights. Furthermore, China's entry into the WTO is likely to benefit some Chinese economically while hurting others, thereby generating some resistance in China to complying with WTO agreements. Some experts and Members of Congress argue that Chinese workers lack basic rights and have become more exploited under market-oriented reforms. Others contend that U.S. trade and investment have improved the lives of many Chinese workers, helped to create a new middle class with progressive political values, and produced a large market for American goods.
Pages: 19
Date: Updated October 15, 2001