Zhu, in fact, politically one-upped the master himself, Bill Clinton. Seeking to gain entry for Beijing into the World Trade Organization, Zhu brought along stunning concessions on market- access issues that have bogged down U.S.-China negotiators for years. He agreed to slash agricultural tariffs, grant distribution to U.S. service companies and open up direct investment in telecommunications.
Clinton told Zhu on April 7 that even that might not be enough given the poisonous atmosphere on Capitol Hill. Republicans were savaging the president for letting Beijing acquire U.S. nuclear and tech know-how; Democrats wanted to protect unions against China’s huge trade surplus . Clinton feared Congress might balk at a WTO deal giving China permanent most-favored-nation status and suggested shifting talks into low gear.
But it turned out that Zhu, an eager economic reformer, was in a hurry. And he knows a thing or two about politics. After leaving Washington, Zhu toured major U.S. cities, pressing his case before U.S. business groups. In speeches–sprinkled with English and mildly acid jokes about touchy topics like nuclear espionage–he described his concessions in detail , and he repeatedly needled Clinton in public. Letters, phone calls and e-mails from America’s biggest corporate donors began cascading into the White House. “It was remarkable,” says Bob Hormats of Goldman, Sachs. “What he did was to turn public opinion from negative to positive wherever he went.”
Zhu was helped by a serious policy divide within the Clinton administration, NEWSWEEK has learned. While Gene Sperling, Clinton’s top economic adviser, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, chief of staff John Podesta and others were wary of a quick accord (which unions were also lobbying heavily against), U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, national-security adviser Sandy Berger and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were pushing for a deal. “Leaks” from the gung-ho crowd suggested the president had become timid.
By April 10, humiliated by press reports, Clinton gave in. He arranged another round of talks and handed Zhu what he wanted: a statement that the U.S. “strongly supports” the accession of China to the WTO in 1999. This week a USTR team heads to Beijing. “I think we’ll get a deal by the end of May,” says Commerce Secretary Bill Daley. But Barshefsky warns that “the deal has to be as bulletproof as possible” to pass Congress. Perhaps Zhu could offer some pointers on selling it on Capitol Hill.
