In Washington, a Marriage Of Convenience for China

Tom Delay is more than another Republican Clinton basher: he is the general who lined up the final votes to impeach the President. So when the House majority whip strode smiling toward the Oval Office one morning this spring, Bill Clinton's aides whirled around with who-let-this-guy-in grimaces of disbelief. DeLay's excuse was a White House bill signing with other members of Congress. Yet as soon as Clinton saw him, the President walked over, shook his hand and drew the Texas Representative aside. There were golf jokes. And then two of Washington's biggest adversaries settled into some strategizing about perhaps the only issue they agree on: permanent trade rights for China.

Tom and Bill have a historic battle on their hands, one neither of them can win alone. They are working together because both men want Congress to pass a landmark bill next week that will guarantee China permanent normal trade relations. Both men view permanent trade status as a crucial element in U.S. global economic and security interests. Most members of the Senate concur. The problem is that both parties in the 435-seat House of Representatives are deeply divided over China. Republicans are suspicious of Beijing, which many see as the ultimate threat to U.S. national security. Democrats, influenced by Big Labor, have been vocal in their opposition to the bill. And members of both parties are concerned that the loss of the annual trade review will remove any leverage Washington has over China's abysmal human rights record.

So in a rare display of bipartisanship, Clinton and DeLay are stumping furiously for the same cause. Last week the President was host to a pro-China White House rally that featured robust speeches by Henry Kissinger, architect of the cold war opening to China; former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and Vice President Gore, as well as appearances by a score of statesmen and politicians, including Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura. The event underscored the high political stakes for Clinton, who hopes that passage of the bill will serve as the cornerstone for a more stable relationship with China--and a more distinguished foreign policy legacy for his presidency. If the bill is defeated, Clinton warns, "it would look like Democrats are running away from our global responsibilities."

In any case, next week's vote has staggering implications. Last November, after 13 years of negotiations, U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and her Chinese counterpart, Shi Guangsheng, signed a landmark agreement that paves the way for China's entry into the World Trade Organization. China agreed to open its markets to a vast basket of U.S. goods and services, dramatically lowering tariffs on almost everything. In return, the U.S. agreed to grant China the same permanent normal trade status every other major economic power enjoys. If Congress does not approve the China trade bill, the U.S. will be the only major economic power without normal trade relations with Beijing.

Although he is hustling to line up support for the trade bill, DeLay's stance on China is a good illustration of why it is a tough sell in Washington. The Texas pol has always been stridently anti-Beijing. He is suspicious of China's intentions on a variety of fronts, from human rights to security. Partly as a result, he is a key proponent of U.S. military ties with Taiwan. Yet DeLay is also a staunch advocate of free trade and believes that more commercial engagement with China will eventually destroy the current Beijing regime.

That is one of several arguments DeLay hopes will bring home 150 Republican votes, probably the minimum to ensure passage of the bill. The Democrats have also made their pitch to those who doubt China's sincerity. The White House announced that it would establish a special compliance office at the Commerce Department to keep track of whether China is honoring its pledges to open markets and reduce tariffs. In addition, the Clinton Administration publicly endorsed a proposal by Representatives Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat, and Doug Bereuter, a Nebraska Republican, to create a special watchdog commission that would keep tabs on human rights abuses in China.

Clinton's Democrats are proving a much tougher sell than DeLay's troops. Democratic leaders need the support of Big Labor to win back control of the House this November. And the unions are solidly against the bill. So most of the undecided Democrats--a group now fewer than 30 (perhaps 60 are yes or leaning to yes)--fear retaliation from labor, even though many are inclined to vote for the bill. Freshman Democrat Anthony Weiner received an assuring phone call from Clinton, and was invited to the White House residence for a pro-trade seminar with Martin Lee, the prominent Hong Kong civil rights advocate. Still, says Weiner, whose mother is a union member in Brooklyn, "the safest vote for me politically would be no."