In last week's Huffington Post (si, si, I'm a bit behind in my reading), Michael Santoro and Wendy Goldberg make the case to the incoming Obama administration that Chinese internet censorship should be treated as a trade barrier:
Almost all discussion of the harm done by China's strict censorship of the Internet focuses around its human rights implications. However, by restraining the ability of U.S. companies to fairly compete in the world's largest market, serious damage is also being done to America's free trade interests by its largest trading partner. The list of companies caught in this dilemma will continue to grow.
There is certainly a case to be made here, though, like Simon Lester, I worry that their argument borders somewhat on the extreme, detracting from its actual merit.