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On to the next most-favoured notions

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Now the 'annual spasm' of debating China's Most Favoured Nation trading status - as one congressman colourfully put it - is once again past, thoughts on Capitol Hill are turning immediately to the next chapter.

Bipartisan momentum is building behind a new set of proposals, to be called the China Human Rights and Democracy Bill, which is designed to satiate the thirst of China critics and rap Beijing lightly over the knuckles without slaying the sacred cow of trade.

The plan was put together by two Republican members of the House - John Porter and David Dreier - after Speaker Newt Gingrich got sick of twisting in the wind over whether or not to back MFN and gave them the task of coming up with a new non-MFN China policy.

This bill, which no doubt helped deflect attention away from the MFN issue and eased its passage through the House on Tuesday, is by no means another of the myriad congressional resolutions critical of China, which spawn a million soundbites but never get out of the starting gate.

It has the beginnings of Clinton administration support and, assuming it finds a sympathetic ear in the Senate, is very likely to pass into law in modified form this year.

But, while the bill's sponsors are on the sensible side of the MFN debate and believe in continuing to engage China, anyone who thinks this set of proposals will do nothing to harm the delicate state of US-China relations had better wake up. It contains provisions that are not merely likely to spark damaging retaliation from Beijing but certain to put State Department officials in a spin trying to implement them.

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