The New York Times

September 15, 1999

Trading With China

Relations between the United States and China, which lurch from crisis to friendship to crisis, appear to be at least temporarily back on a positive footing. On Sunday President Clinton and Jiang Zemin, the Chinese President, gave a welcome nudge to negotiators to complete a broad agreement enabling China to enter the World Trade Organization, possibly before the organization's meeting in Seattle in November. It is not clear how quickly China wants to close a deal. But bringing China into the global trading community will yield big dividends, and the Administration should make a maximum effort to conclude an agreement.

Arrangements for Chinese entry into the W.T.O. were supposed to have been announced in April during the American visit of Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. But because of last-minute political pressure from Congress, where antipathy toward China runs high, the Administration backed away. Its failure of nerve embarrassed the Chinese and proved costly. Valuable negotiating time was lost because China stopped its talks with the United States in protest over the accidental bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in May. China may now be trying to use the bombing incident to squeeze more trade concessions from Washington. In addition, the recent disclosures about possible espionage and China's bellicose language directed at Taiwan have made it hard to get the talks started again.

Some parts of the American economy, including textiles, are bound to suffer from increased Chinese competition. On the positive side, American farmers, investment firms, telecommunications and other businesses will gain from greater market access in China. The whole world would benefit by China's agreeing to adhere to the openness, fair access and rules for the resolution of disputes embodied in the W.T.O.'s charter.

Whatever happens, the issues raised by trading with China are certain to have repercussions in American politics. Patrick Buchanan, the most vociferous advocate of protectionism in the Republican field, has vowed to make China a major issue if he bolts the party and runs as an independent on the Reform Party ticket. Many Republicans in Congress also want to punish China for its alleged espionage at American nuclear laboratories, its threats of military action against Taiwan and its crackdown on dissidents. On the Democratic side, many union leaders are pressing Congress to reject a trade agreement. The unions are also demanding that both Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Bradley take a more skeptical view of China than President Clinton has.

There is ample reason to be wary of Chinese intentions. Bellicose statements from Chinese leaders on Taiwan have been troublesome, and their intolerance of dissent has been repugnant. The charges of espionage, though not yet proved, have alarmed many. China may also be reluctant to make last-minute concessions necessary to get a trade deal. But for Americans to reject a trade agreement that benefits everyone is misguided. Provided China meets all the conditions, a deal could actually improve the possibility of dialogue on other contentious issues.