Republican senators on March 18 introduced a bill that would strip the Chinese regime of its trading privileges by revoking its permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status in a bid to hold it accountable for its economic aggressions and human rights abuses. The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), would tie China’s eligibility to receive preferential trading treatment—known as “normal trade relations” status (NTR)—with the government’s human rights record. Under President Bill Clinton, the United States granted China PNTR status in 2000, which paved the way for the regime’s accession to the World Trade Organization. Conventional thinking at the time was that more trade and investment in China would spur democratization within the communist-ruled country. However, it’s now widely recognized that this consensus has not been effective. Instead, with the help of the surge in foreign investment and a raft of unfair trade practices, China’s communist regime has been …