1 The United States and China are headed back to the bargaining table to try to resolve a budding trade war over U.S. complaints about pirated music, movies and computer software.
2 Just two days after the United States announced stiff tariffs on some Chinese imports, both sides agreed Monday to resume talks next week in Beijing.
3 'It's a step in the right direction,' U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor told a news conference. 'We are going to these talks with an open mind.'
4 Kantor said he is encouraged because China responded so promptly to a U.S. announcement Saturday that on Feb. 26 it would impose 100 percent tariffs on dlrs 1.08 billion worth of Chinese products, doubling their price.
5 China's trade minister, Wu Yi, extended the invitation to resume the negotiations in a letter received in Washington Sunday night.
6 'I don't know how China could have responded more quickly,' an upbeat Kantor said. 'We're delighted and impressed by the rapid response.'
7 In another development, Secretary of State Warren Christopher said overall U.S.-China relations would not reach 'fulfilment' until China improved its human rights record, treated Tibet better, and curbed sales of weapons technology.
8 Christopher told reporters that even though the Chinese leadership may change soon, the Clinton administration will deal with those in power. 'We'll try to work out the best relationship,' he said.
9 Senior leader Deng Xiaoping is said to be near death and no longer exercising control.
10 The trade talks broke down on Jan. 28, just before China's weeklong lunar New Year holiday. The Clinton administration wasted little time in announcing tariffs on such Chinese-made goods as plastic products, cellular phones, answering machines, sporting goods and bicycles.
11 China said last week it would retaliate with its own sanctions if the tariffs go into effect.
12 Kantor praised the Chinese on Monday for extending an olive branch in offering to resume talking.
13 But he cautioned that 'we're not going to rule anything out' if the talks collapse and the Chinese follow through with their threat to retaliate with their own tariffs.
14 'Let me reiterate that piracy of U.S. products is an extremely serious problem and we expect the Chinese to come to the table prepared to address our concerns,' he said.
15 Kantor said there had been some progress in the earlier talks but stressed that 'nothing is agreed to before everything is agreed to.'
16 He said U.S. negotiators will head to China next Monday.
17 Chinese products that would double in price under punitive U.S. tariffs amount to less than 1 percent of the estimated dlrs 124 billion of China's total 1994 exports. China-U.S. trade in 1994 was about dlrs 45 billion.
18 Analysts said an escalating trade war could have serious consequences.
19 'The stakes are high,' said Donald Straszheim, chief economist for Merrill Lynch and Co. 'This is a 1.2 billion-person market and one that is likely to grow rapidly in the coming years.'
20 The dispute could push China to turn to Europe instead of the United States, analysts said.
21 The amount of the threatened U.S. tariffs is about equal to what American businesses say they lose because of Chinese piracy of copyrighted U.S. music, movies and computer software.
22 China agreed in a memorandum of understanding with the United States in 1992 that it would protect copyrights and other intellectual property rights. China argues that it has made huge progress in enforcing new laws to protect those rights and that U.S. officials are making unreasonable demands.
23 China's trade surplus with the United States was nearly dlrs 30 billion last year, second only to Japan and growing rapidly.

Just two days after the United States announced stiff tariffs on some Chinese imports , both sides agreed Monday to resume talks next week in Beijing .
stiff tariffs
when are tariffs considered stiff?