Premier Zhu Rongji's North American tour, which begins today in Los Angeles, will be China's last, best chance to improve relations with the United States for perhaps another two years. But the poisonous political atmosphere in Washington raises grave doubts about whether major progress can occur.
Much depends upon Mr Zhu himself. His eight days in America, followed by six in Canada, will give him many chances to describe Chinese ambitions in terms which could ameliorate the harsh images that prevail in the US and sometimes elsewhere.
The Premier clearly recognises the challenge. 'The goal of my visit is to tell you the truth and also to let you vent your anger and voice your complaints,' he said last month. 'It is also to resume the good momentum towards building a constructive strategic partnership.' At present, too few American politicians are listening. The long US election season has begun, and foes of the incumbent Democrats attack President Bill Clinton's China policy because they think this has voter appeal.
There are several ways Mr Zhu could help to revise the terms of this caustic debate, starting with Kosovo. China opposes Nato's Balkan intervention because it does not want foreigners someday claiming similar rights to get involved in its own disputes with Taiwanese, Tibetans or others.
That is not something Mr Zhu can change. But he could separate Chinese policy from support for Slobodan Milosevic, who has turned mass murder, looting and forcible expulsion of minorities into national policies. Mr Zhu could make clear that such brutality has nothing to do with the China he is trying to build, now or in the future.
He could also be frank about China's problems. With candour, he might convince Americans that Beijing has cause to worry about internal stability in the coming years - that there is more to this than unelected communist leaders clinging to power. Few Americans appreciate how economic reforms could crowd the streets with jobless workers.