Did Bush Support China Joining The World Trade Organization?

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon claimed in an interviewSunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that former President George W. Bush let China join the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Verdict: True

The Bush administration backed China’s membership in the WTO.

Fact Check:

In the interview, Bannon framed American support for China joining the WTO as a mistake that contributed to China’s rise as an economic competitor.

“The elites in this country have got us in a situation,” lamented Bannon. “The geniuses in the Bush administration that let China in the WTO, and genius in the Bush administration told us, ‘Hey, they’re gonna be a liberal democracy. They’re going to be free-market capitalism.’ Okay? The same geniuses that got us into Iraq, that’s the geniuses of the Bush administration.”

China gained admission to the WTO in 2001, a move that more fully integrated the country into the world economy. To become a member, China committedto reducing agricultural and industrial tariffs and abide by rules-based trade with other WTO members.

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