Commentary: Washington And Beijing: Dumb And Dumber

Only a year ago, relations between the U.S. and China seemed about to enter a stable new era. President Clinton's May, 1994, decision to de-link annual renewal of most-favored-nation trade status for China from its human-rights record eliminated a major source of friction between Washington and Beijing. Economic relations brightened. And American CEOs, eager to tap China's booming markets, rushed to join Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown on a trade mission to Beijing.

This year, the Ron Brown Express sits idly in the hangar. Bitter disputes about a visit to the U.S. by Taiwan's President, a bulging trade imbalance, and Chinese arms trafficking have sent Sino-U.S. relations into a tailspin. Now, Chinese officials are threatening to re-link trade and political concerns by throwing juicy deals to Corporate America's rivals as punishment for Washington's transgressions. "Not since the cold war started have relations between two powers deteriorated so far so fast," laments one Administration official.