By Gene Gibbons

WASHINGTON, April 25, 1997 (Reuter) - President Clinton Friday played down China's alleged effort to sway U.S. policy by pumping money into political campaigns, saying friends try to shape policy and no-one thinks twice about it.

"A lot of our friends in the world, countries with whom we're very closely allied, have friends in the United States that advocate for the policies of their governments all the time," Clinton said. "To take two obvious examples, it's true of Israel, it's true of Greece. And I would not consider that improper."

He added that Americans were comfortable with such efforts because, living in a multi-ethnic country, "we understand it."

Clinton, at a joint news conference with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, was responding to a report that "top" Chinese officials in 1995 approved plans to try to buy influence with U.S. politicians.

The Washington Post, which published the report, said the scheme continued through last year's U.S. elections and that intercepts of communications between Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in Washington showed it was "government sanctioned."

"If there was any improper attempt to influence the workings of the United States executive or legislative branches, obviously that would be a matter of serious concern," Clinton said.

But he said the U.S. government could not assume "something we do not know, and act in a way that may not be warranted. We need to get the facts here before we do that."

Alleged Chinese efforts to buy U.S. political influence by funneling cash into the 1996 presidential and congressional election campaigns which, if true, would be illegal are now the subject of several probes. China has strongly denied the allegations.

Clinton's Democratic Party has returned nearly $3 million to campaign contributors many of them individuals with ties to Asian business interests or governments.

The ongoing investigations have led the FBI to exclude the White House from access to some information about the campaign financing controversy, raising questions about whether Clinton is getting the all the data he needs with regard to China.

"I believe that the president and secretary of state and the national security adviser should have access to whatever information is necessary to conduct the foreign policy and to protect the national interest of the country," Clinton said.

He said he had put safeguards in place to prevent even an appearance that such access might compromise the information.

"In light of some of the allegations which have been made, I have made it clear that to resolve all questions, I expect every piece of information the Justice Department gives me to be shared with the Congress," Clinton said.

"If there were some improper attempt to influence this government, would it affect our relations? Of course it's something we'd have to take seriously," he said.

Clinton urged against a rush to judgement however, saying that the United States had "very large interests in a stable relationship with China."