Charlene Barshefsky

夏琳·巴尔舍夫斯基

1950–present

United States Trade Representative (1997–2001)

Biography

Charlene Barshefsky (born 1950) served as United States Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001, the senior official responsible for trade affairs in the Clinton administration. She led the US side of the bilateral negotiations with China on WTO accession, signing the China–US bilateral market access agreement with Chinese Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Wu Yi in Beijing on 15 November 1999, making her the key American figure in advancing China's accession. Barshefsky also actively lobbied Congress domestically for passage of the Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) Act, clearing the US legal obstacle to China's formal accession.

Related Events (1)

2001-12-11

China Joins the World Trade Organization

After 15 years of negotiations, China formally became the 143rd member of the World Trade Organization in December 2001, committing to reduce tariffs, open its markets, and accept the disciplines of the multilateral trading system.

economic