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Discusses the debate concerning the imbalance of foreign trade between China and the United States.

Reports on the actions that the United States government must go through to ratify China as a trade partner following the agreement to allow China as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Reports Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji's efforts to gain membership into the World Trade Organization (WTO). United States President Bill Clinton's negotiations with Zhu as a result of pressure from US business and a shifting mood in Congress, who originally opposed the idea; Clinton's original goal to stay on the good side of the AFL-CIO by avoiding negotiations with Zhu until after the 2000 elections; Zhu's desire to modernize China.

Discusses the importance of China as a trading partner for the United States in the late 1990s. The growing Chinese economy, which some feel could eventually overtake the US as the world's largest economy; Why President Clinton's 1998 visit is important for US-Sino relations and trade; China's emerging role in the management of the global economy; The likelihood of China gaining membership in the Group of Eight.