
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 26, 1990                   TAG: 9005260038
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Newsday
DATELINE: BEIJING                                LENGTH: Medium

CHINA SENDS CONGRESS CONCILIATORY MESSAGE

The Chinese government has recently been sending subtle messages of regret for its violent suppression of last year's pro-democracy demonstrations. The messages have been intended, at least in part, to quiet critics in the U.S. Congress who opposed Thursday's renewal of China's most-favored-nation trade status in the wake of June's massacre, diplomats here say.

In a meeting this week with Helmut Schmidt, the former West German chancellor, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping admitted "mistakes were made," and that the leadership deserves much of the blame for the pro-democracy movement that ended with the military opening fire on civilians last year.

"The students shouldn't be blamed too much," a witness quoted Deng as saying to Schmidt, who is touring Asia as an "elder statesman," briefing world leaders on the reunification of the two Germanys. "The problems hadn't been sufficiently solved within the party. That's the main reason" for the demonstrations and the bloody crackdown that left hundreds - and perhaps 3,000 - people dead and China the target of international scorn.

Also, during the past several weeks, Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin has appeared on U.S. and Japanese television, saying that demonstrations are better cleared with non-lethal force, that the purge of student leaders was over and that no criminal charges would be filed against his predecessor, Zhao Ziyang, who was ousted and placed in political exile after he failed to end the demonstrations. Jiang, who also met with Schmidt, told him that pro-democracy demonstrations are possible this month or next, but that they will be handled by unarmed riot police.

"These aren't apologies nor confessions," a European diplomat said. "They aren't saying that Zhao was right or that the students were right. But they are softening a bit, giving their friends something to hang their hat on."

The reconciliatory tone has eased the way for the Bush administration to renew "most-favored-nation" trade concessions to China, despite congressional calls to revoke the designation. China's most-favored-nation status, which Bush renewed Thursday for one year, would have expired early next month.

"The mood, as recent as May 1, was to revoke the MFN," said a U.S. diplomat based outside of China. "Then, the . . . conciliatory messages changed the mood in Washington, apparently convinced the White House it was worth the risk to extend MFN again."

Most-favored-nation status gives China an especially low tariff. Cutting it off - as required by law for gross violations of human rights - would have resulted in a loss of between 50 percent to 80 percent of the $12 billion in Chinese exports to America, according to Washington and Beijing estimates.

by CNB