by Lorien Holland

BEIJING, Nov 21 (AFP) - US President Bill Clinton's second mandate has sown the seeds for wide improvements to troubled Sino-US ties, and sentiment in Beijing augurs well for a highly-symbolic presidential summit next year.

But US Secretary of State Warren Christopher's meetings in Beijing Wednesday still failed to resolve fundamental disagreements on arms sales to Taiwan and human rights, despite concessions from Washington on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and from Beijing on nuclear non-proliferation.

"The results of Christopher's meetings gave a clear indication that both sides are now ready to wipe away the disasters of Clinton's first term and build a fresh relationship," said a western diplomat in Beijing.

"This is the first clear sign that China has started to respond strongly to US initiatives to improve ties after Clinton's re-election."

Shanghai mayor Xu Kuangdi was emboldened sufficiently by the upturn in ties to state Thursday that Clinton would pay his first state visit to China in the first half of 1997, quoting vice president Al Gore as his source.

While the State Department remained tight-lipped on the proposed summit, statements from both presidents indicated improved bilateral relations were high on both nation's agendas.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin predicted "constructive cooperation" during Clinton's second term, and Clinton pledged to spend "a lot of time and a lot of energy" bolstering relations with Beijing.

"There is definitely a positive atmosphere here," said a second diplomat. "Just look at China's decision to cooperate in the four-party talks on North Korea. This reflects that China is trying to be helpful and push areas where it can work together with the United States," he added.

Sino-US relations had slumped over the past two years following a string of bilateral crises, including human rights, trade and especially over Taiwan.

But both sides made concessions during Wednesday's key meetings, with Christopher pledging to speed up negotiations for China to enter the WTO and Qian promising that Beijing would bolster export controls on sensitive weapons technology and materials.

However there was no agreement on a US reduction of arms sales to Beijing's rival, Taiwan, or China's human rights record towards dissidents and Tibet.

"I am not yet convinced that relations have moved forward enough for Clinton to visit China. He will want some concrete concession to avoid criticism from home, especially from the Congress," said an Asian diplomat.

The US Congress sparked the 1995 sharp downturn in Sino-US relations by forcing Clinton to grant a US visa to Taiwan's president Lee Teng-hui, which enraged China sufficiently for it to recall its ambassador and cancel all high-level visits.

Ties were further strained when China launched war games in the Taiwan Strait ahead of the island's first democratic presidential elections, prompting Washington to dispatch two battle groups to the region.

Even as improved ties moved on to the horizon, Beijing prompted Washington's censure by sentencing student dissident Wang Dan to 11 years in jail in October for plotting to overthrow the government by writing articles critical of China's political system.

Top China specialist David Shambaugh predicted last week that relations had a "window of opportunity" to improve dramatically because the anti-China lobby in the United States had been effectively sidelined and would remain so for a number of months.