JOHN LUIGI MICA Press Release: Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA Went to Tibet & China to Lobby for Boeing

Mica Leads First Ever Congressional Delegation to Tibet
Date: 08/09/2005
Location: Shanghai, China
Speech

August 9, 2005

MICA LEADS FIRST EVER CONGRESSIONAL
DELEGATION TO TIBET

Presses Chinese Government over a host of issues

SHANGHAI, CHINA - Leading an historic, first-ever official U.S. Congressional delegation visit to Tibet, Representative John L. Mica (7th District - R) today announced he has pressed the Chinese Government to work more aggressively to resolve human rights concerns, the trade deficit, and other issues important to the United States.

"We had unprecedented access and discussed a whole range of issues including human rights and the status of the Dalai Lama," Mica stated. "We focused on concerns in the United States and Congress about the mounting trade deficit with China as well as intellectual property rights, and we also urged the Chinese to continue pressuring North Korea in the nuclear disarmament talks."

Rep. Mica and other members of Congress are participating in an interparliamentary exchange with Beijing and Shanghai. The seventh in a series that began several years ago, the exchange of officials permits Chinese parliamentarians to visit the United States and vice versa with an effort to improving government relations between the two countries.

This past weekend, Congressman Mica led a separate 9-member delegation to the Tibetian capital of Lhasa before traveling on to Shanghai. Previously members of Congress have visited Tibet on their own individual prerogatives, but the Mica delegation was the first Congressional delegation to visit in an official capacity since that region was taken over by China 40 years ago.

While the Congressional delegation was visiting, the Chinese announced the purchase of 42 Boeing 787s, a deal worth nearly $5 Billion. Boeing, which once dominated both U.S. and China markets, has lost half of the large aircraft purchase orders in America and a third of their sales in China to their European competitor, Airbus. Air China Ltd. and China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. will buy 15 aircraft each, Shanghai Airlines Co. Ltd. will take nine, and Xiamen Airlines will purchase three. Additional purchases may be announced in the near future.

"We raised serious concerns about the trade imbalance and ensuring market access to U.S. businesses," the Congressman said. "We told the Chinese representatives that the acquisition of $5 billion in American aircraft is only a first step to addressing the huge trade imbalance that currently exists between our countries."

Rep. Mica continued, "There is still pressure in Congress to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports if additional steps aren't taken to deal with the imbalance of trade. The Chinese were also urged to continue their active support in the North Korea nuclear disarmament talks that will reconvene in several weeks."

As part of the delegation's travel plans, Rep. Mica was to rendezvous in Shanghai with a delegation led by House Speaker Dennis Hastert before returning to Washington, DC and then to Central Florida later this week.

http://www.house.gov/mica/pr05tibet.htm