"Today's announcement that the United States and China have made significant progress on a wide range of trade and investment issues represents a major step forward for American businesses, workers and farmers. I congratulate Ambassador Barshefsky and her team for all the hard work that led to this tremendous accomplishment.

"China has shown its willingness to open the door to its enormous market wider than ever, presenting Americans with unprecedented opportunities to trade with the world's most-populous country. In addition, today's announcement helps pave the way for China to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which means that it soon could be part of the rules-based world trading system.

"It is now extremely important for the Administration to press forward to resolve the remaining U.S.-China trade issues so that we can achieve the important objective of WTO membership for China. Congress also will need to extend permanent normal trade status to China as WTO rules require. A bipartisan effort to normalize U.S. trade relations with China will ensure that American businesses, workers and farmers reap the full benefits of these market-opening initiatives."