Jane Harman hosting Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Hughes Electronics Corporation, 1997.

Jane Harman meeting future South African President Nelson Mandela, 1993.

During Harman's first three terms in Congress, she met many world leaders, including Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Nelson Mandela who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and became president of South Africa in 1994. Part of Harman's interest in foreign markets stemmed from her years as a private attorney with the international law firm of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue. Although she was concerned about China's human rights violations, Harman annually supported continuing most-favored-nation (MFN) trading status to China. American jobs, including thousands in her district, depend on free trade with China.

Jane Harman shaking hands with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak flanked by Congressmen Brad Sherman and Benjamin Gilman, n.d. Photographer unknown.

Congressman Benjamin Gilman and Jane Harman shaking hands with King Hussein of Jordan, n.d. Photographer unknown.

Congressman Pete Geren behind Jane Harman shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, n.d. Photographer unknown.

H.J. Res. 102, 105th Congress, 1st session, 7 November 1997.

Harman visited Israel, Egypt, and Jordan before she was elected to Congress in 1992. In 1997, Harman cosponsored House Joint Resolution 102, which recognized the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel and reaffirmed the bonds of friendship between the United States and Israel.

Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney, Jane Harman, Mary Ann Glendon, and Constance Morella at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, 5 September 1995.

Jane Harman with Congresswomen Constance Morella and Carolyn Maloney at the Great Hall of the People in China, September 1995. Photographer unknown.

H. Con. Res. 39, 105th Congress, 1st session, 6 March 1997.

In September 1995, Harman attended the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, with a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary of State Madelaine Albright addressed the assembly. The platform for action adopted by the congress addressed poverty, violence against women, workplace equity, and economic opportunity.

A year later, Harman was a speaker at a follow-up conference in California. In March 1997, Harman cosponsored H. Con. Res. 39, which supported the commitments of the 1995 conference.