CONGRESS : Helms Watchers Disquieted by the Quiet : Despite storm warnings, when Christopher and the new Senate Foreign Relations chief meet, the gentlemen prefer bland.

It was an eagerly awaited event: a confrontation matching new Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), the strident and conservative ideologue, against top officials of the Clinton Administration over plans to give North Korea two light-water nuclear reactors in exchange for termination of the Communist regime’s nuclear weapons program.

As senior minority member of the committee during the last few years, Helms was a feisty and partisan bomb-thrower, a man so hypercritical of the State Department that even Republican officials spoke his name only through clenched teeth. Helms, lifted to the chairmanship by the November GOP election sweep, was expected to be a very high hurdle for all aspects of the Administration’s foreign policy.

And it seemed to start that way. In a blistering opening statement, Helms posed a series of questions about the Korean deal, reaching his peak of outrage: “Why is the U.S. giving any aid to a Stalinist regime?”

But after Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Defense Secretary William J. Perry defended the agreement, Helms deferred the questioning to other members of the panel, Democrats as well as Republicans. When the other senators were through, the chairman made a few pro forma inquiries and adjourned the hearing.

It was a surprising performance. In his first month on the job, Helms has played an entirely different role than either his supporters or his detractors expected. As chairman, he has been temperate, fair and--at times--almost laconic.

A few days after the North Korea session, Helms astounded friend and foe alike by nimbly getting out of the way of ratification of a strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia, the sort of legislation he used to scornfully oppose. Helms said the pact probably was good enough, although he still had some doubts.

A top Helms aide said Christopher, a bland Establishment lawyer, and Helms, a self-designated courtly Southerner, have established a rapport despite the wide ideological gulf between their positions on many issues.

Nevertheless, Administration officials remain wary.

The White House has shown that it is reluctant to send potentially controversial nominations to the Senate out of concern that they will be shot down by Helms.

The committee’s Republican lawmakers and staff members say they can hardly wait for the Administration to select a new U.S. ambassador to China. Administration officials are said to be preparing to nominate former Sen. Jim Sasser of Tennessee for the post. But no matter who the candidate is, the committee plans to give him a difficult time, turning the confirmation hearings into a pointed review of U.S. policy toward the world’s most populous nation.

Clinton is in no hurry to get into that fight. J. Stapleton Roy, one of the nation’s most distinguished professional diplomats, has been envoy to China since July 29, 1991--already six months longer than the normal three-year tour of duty.

Aside from the China post, however, most nominations will be approved unless “they send up a bunch of unqualified candidates,” a Helms aide said.

“If they are afraid of us, that’s OK,” the aide said. “But I think their fears are exaggerated.”

Christopher has recently appeared on almost a daily basis before the committee, the House International Relations Committee and other panels. So far, there have been few fireworks. But that is probably because the hearings have skirted most of the truly emotional issues.

In an interview, Christopher said he expects to work effectively with Congress. “I feel encouraged that, in general, we can work with the Republicans.”

One senior Administration official speculated that the transformation from combative ranking minority member to accommodating chairman came about because Helms is now in a position to really change things. On issues such as arms control and the North Korea agreement, the chairman may have concluded that the deals were flawed but probably better than nothing.

Will the tranquillity last? Probably not. For instance, Christopher said he intends to fight vigorously for foreign aid, spending Helms has described as money “down a foreign rat hole.”

“We’ll have our differences,” Christopher said. “One of the reasons I’m trying, and I’m sure he is too, trying to establish good personal relationships, is so that we can disagree without being disagreeable, as he puts it.”