INDUSTRY-BY-INDUSTRY OUTLOOK : The Year in Preview

California came several years late to the nation’s economic recovery party, but the state should be celebrating all through 1997.

Here is what key industries will be up to:

INTERNATIONAL TRADE: Business leaders will be watching warily as China raises its flag over Hong Kong on July 1, marking the historic return of the British colony to Chinese control. China has other issues keeping it at the forefront of the trade picture in 1997, including its growing trade surplus with the United States, its bid to join the World Trade Organization and calls from the business community to grant the country permanent most-favored-nation trade status. Pressures will increase on multilateral groups, such as the WTO and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, to address rising concerns over human rights abuses and labor standards in China, Indonesia, Myanmar and other developing markets.