There's a lot of history there. China had been liberalizing their society and there was some thinking - wishful thinking, perhaps - that accepting China into t

There's a lot of history there. China had been liberalizing their society and there was some thinking - wishful thinking, perhaps - that accepting China into the international community via the WTO and offering them Most Favored Nation trading status would encourage continued liberalization. The thinking is obviously imperfect in hindsight, but I think that Bush and Obama both feared the complications and political fallout of trying to correct course.