By Alan Cowell

Source: The New York Times

forwarded by: Lori Cayton

BONN, July 12 -- Early this morning, German radio listeners heard Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel say in an interview that human rights would not be the central issue raised during a visit by President Jiang Zemin of China. A few hours later, they heard why. Mr. Jiang was visiting industrialists today in Stuttgart, where Mercedes-Benz cars are made. A day before, Audi, which also makes luxury cars, announced a proposal for a joint venture to build automobiles for the growing Chinese market. German companies are also lining up for contracts potentially worth billions for subways and trains.

To Germany's political opposition, the Government's readiness to juggle contracts and human rights smacked of scandal. "The Stalin of China is not wanted in Germany," the Green Party said in a statement. The opposition Social Democrats have also urged the German Government to raise human rights violations with Mr. Jiang, and even some lower-ranking officials of the governing Christian Democratic Union say they will present the Chinese President with lists of political detainees to seek their release. But so far, compared with a visit last year by Prime Minister Li Peng of China, when widespread demonstrations disrupted his stay, public protests this year have been far fewer. And so the govenment may feel under less pressure to raise human rights concerns much beyond the level of a nod while pursuing commercial interests.

Germany's attitude toward Beijing illustrated the same divergence from United States practice as marks Bonn's relationship with Iran. While the United States has imposed an embargo on Iran because of Teheran's purported support for terrorism, Bonn favors a policy called "critical dialogue," which avoids confrontation, permits German companies to maintain trade ties and, in theory, enables German politicians to talk to Iranian leaders about changing their ways. While American relations with China sour over Taiwan, human rights in general and, most recently, over the arrest of the Chinese-American rights advocate Harry Wu, Germany's ties with Beijing flourish.

While Bonn's ties to Iran draw political cover from a Europe-wide embrace of "critical dialogue," the friendship with China has a particularly German flavor. Both Britain and France have strained relations with Beijing. China, by contrast, terms its ties with Bonn "excellent," and that, some commentators say, puts Germany in a position to exert influence where the United States cannot. In the pursuit of cooperation, Germany has in the past clearly placed commercial interests before any attempt to exert influence, postponing, for instance, any official encounter with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, until long after he had met with other Western leaders, including President Clinton. Germany is now China's biggest European trade partner. Since 1990, according to German figures, annual trade has doubled to $18 billion, with a surplus of some $4 billion in China's favor. After Mr. Jiang visited Stuttgart today, Mercedes-Benz announced that a letter of intent would be signed on Thursday for a $1 billion

joint venture agreement to produce vans and engines in China.