Clinton to Nudge China on Rights Reform, Officials Say

A week in advance of a key congressional vote on the extension of normal trade relations with China, President Clinton is putting together a package aimed at nudging the Asian giant toward advances in human rights and democracy, administration officials said Monday.

According to these officials and congressional sources, Clinton is expected to go over his proposals at a White House meeting Wednesday with about 25 key members of the House. One official described the gathering as a high-powered lobbying session to push for a one-year extension of most-favored-nation trading status for China.

The package, seen as a way to diminish opposition to the extension, is said to include:

* A sharp increase in funding for Radio Free Asia, the U.S.-government-backed shortwave radio network that began broadcasting in Chinese last fall.

* An increase in funding for the National Endowment for Democracy program, which works with the Chinese government to promote the growth of local-level democracy and the rule of law at the grass roots in China.

* Creation of a new, privately funded but federally chartered institution that would support Sino-American exchange programs in areas such as culture, science and education.

* An administration commitment to keep better track of China’s human rights record through such moves as increasing the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and compiling a register to monitor the fate of human rights victims in China.

The administration also has pledged to push for a statement at next weekend’s meeting of leading industrial nations in Denver that urges Beijing to guarantee its commitments to protect democratic institutions and human rights in Hong Kong after the British colony reverts to Chinese control July 1.

Administration officials believe that such proposals would at least partly address criticism that Clinton has abandoned efforts to press the human rights issue and encourage democratic reform in an unseemly rush to cash in on China’s huge and emerging commercial markets.

The ideas already have found some support among House members on both sides of the trade issue, which this year divides Congress more deeply than at any time in recent memory. The House is expected to vote next week on the extension of trade benefits, and the outcome is far from certain.

Those with major commercial interests in China and those convinced that only the higher living standards inherent in growing trade can bring democracy to China and improve the country’s human rights record have joined Clinton in leading the push for an extension.

A coalition of forces--including human rights advocates, labor union groups and the Christian right, which wants to punish China for its restrictions on religious freedom--strenuously opposes the extension.

The participation of religious groups in the debate for the first time, coupled with political fallout from accusations that Beijing illegally funneled money into the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign, has heightened the divisive nature of the debate.

The administration’s moves come as other forces favoring the extension began exerting their own influence.

Speaking at a news conference in Washington, Tracy Mullin, president of the National Retail Federation, warned that disrupting normal trade relations with China would result in high tariffs on goods imported from China--such as silk blouses, shoes, toys and electronic goods--that could cost each U.S. household an additional $302 per year. “A $10 pair of sneakers would double in price,” she said.

She also claimed that 2.4 million American jobs are directly related to retail sales of consumer goods imported from China.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today plans to release the results of a survey of 200 small companies that concludes trade with China is not ideal but still is extremely important for small U.S. businesses.

While there is little doubt that Clinton has enough votes in Congress to sustain a presidential veto if the House and Senate vote to sever normal trade ties, the administration is anxious to avoid a messy and prolonged debate that could severely damage already difficult relations with a nation that many believe holds the key to Asia’s future.

On Saturday, Clinton used his weekly radio address to deliver a blunt warning that failure to extend normal trade relations with China would severely harm the chances of a smooth transition of Hong Kong to Chinese rule.