CHINA TRADE TUSSLE CONTINUES

The U.S. and China may have averted a trade war with an anti-piracy pact signed Sunday, but more battles are looming in other categories of commerce. China's agreement to crack down on piracy of U.S.-produced computer software, compact disks, videotapes and other "intellectual property" averted a U.S. threat of punitive tariffs. The agreement brought China a step closer to joining the World Trade Organization, especially if it strictly enforces the new agreement. Chinese membership in the WTO has been blocked by Europe and the Clinton Administration, which object to trade barriers restricting sales of western goods and services there. While the trade pact could boost U.S. trade with China by $1 billion, the U.S. trade gap with China soared to nearly $30 billion last year. "These other issues will be very contentious," says TIME New York correspondent Barbara Rudolph. "This is just the beginning of a long series of fights and battles."