President Bush formally signed China's permanent U.S. trading rights approval Prior to normalization, China did not have Most Favored Nation (MFN) trading status, so trade relations with the country were reviewed yearly.

In his statement, the President said this is the "final step toward normalizing U.S. - China trade relations and welcoming China into a global, rules-based trading system."

In 1999, the U.S. Congress voted that if China were accepted into the World Trade Organization, trade relations would be normalized.

Both efforts are simply symbolic; all World Trade Organization members are required to have normalized trade relationships with each other. China was officially accepted into the WTO in December 2001.