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

DATE: MONDAY, November 14, 1994                   TAG: 9411170074
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder Tribune
DATELINE: JAKARTA, INDONESIA                                LENGTH: Medium

U.S, CHINA STILL AT ODDS

In his first meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin since last year's dispute over human rights, President Clinton said today that U.S. concerns about human rights remained the main impediment toward fuller relations between the two nations.

``The president said the relationship will not reach its full potential until human rights issues are addressed,'' a State Department official said after the meeting.

Since Clinton made his controversial decision last May to extend trading privileges to China despite continuing human rights abuses, the Chinese have made little progress in addressing U.S. concerns.

A senior administration official said Clinton told the Chinese president that he welcomed the release this month of eight political prisoners, but added that further progress was necessary.

Clinton, who is here to attend a summit for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, will be raising human rights issues with his Chinese and Indonesian counterparts, but only in private meetings. The president made a decision before arriving here not to push the issue of improving human rights in Asia at a forum devoted to economic issues.

Most of Clinton's hour-long meeting with Jiang, which the Clinton aide described as ``businesslike but friendly,'' was spent discussing a recent agreement to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program.

Jiang supported the arrangement negotiated by the United States, which calls for North Korea to replace its nuclear reactors with less threatening nuclear technology. The conversion, which could cost $4 billion, will be financed by the United States and its Asian allies.

Clinton's meeting with Jiang marked the beginning of a full day of one-on-one sessions with key U.S. trading partners and allies in the Pacific.

The president, who arrived here late Sunday night for the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, was scheduled to meet with the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. On Wednesday, he will be the guest of Indonesian President Suharto for an official state visit.

Two issues that have dominated President Clinton's foreign policy agenda this year - promoting trade and neutralizing the North Korean nuclear threat - were likely to dominate those meetings.

In his meeting with China's Jiang Zemin, Clinton addressed China's demand to become a founding member of the soon-to-be formed World Trade Organization (WTO).

The WTO is expected to be created next year to implement the sweeping trade reforms that were negotiated as part of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreements for Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

by CNB