in principle, the idea that you can't separate human rights in china from free trade discussions is indeed absolutely critical, because you can't begin to talk about free trade with china unless you talk about the lack of worker's rights in the country.

....which is why all they're talking about is journalists.

it's a bait and switch. and, it broadcasts that it's extremely unlikely that what will get signed will be a free trade agreement. it will be another investors rights bonanza, full of special clauses for specific special corporate interests.

this is just mercantilism. and, the way we use 'free trade' today is something like the way orwell used the 'ministry of peace'.

that said, we clearly need an agreement with china. china isn't going anywhere. we have to deal with this.

what's worrisome is the idea that it may end up as the same kind of deal that countries like peru are signing with them. and, watch the chomsky video i posted yesterday for a discussion of the problems endemic within that.

we are hewers of wood. they want our resources. and, they're going to want to sell us back the products they make at slave labour wages. that's not free trade, it's becoming a colony in the neo-mercantilist chinese empire.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/07/04/china-canada-relations-hurt-by-trudeau-government-bowing-down-to_a_23015643/