CHINA

U.S. Offers ‘Road Map’ to WTO: Deputy Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said in Beijing last week that China must pass “30 or so” checkpoints before it can become a member of the World Trade Organization. Barshefsky, the first high-level U.S. official to visit Beijing since Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with President Clinton in New York two weeks ago, said the issues include tighter enforcement of intellectual property laws and greater market access for U.S. goods and services. She said the U.S. trade deficit with China is expected to top $38 billion this year and $50 billion in 1996. China’s trade minister has described the proposal on entry to the WTO as “a positive step,” but he told Barshefsky that the United States “is still asking for too much.”