The visit should take place, and very likely will, barring monumental surprises. The visit of the head of the Chinese government to the United States would be a welcome continuation of the visit-driven advances achieved through the Jiang and Clinton state visits in 1997 and 1998. Expect some in the American political arena to take noisy aim at the visit, as happened in the lead-up to the two earlier summit meetings. Beyond that, the Zhu visit, if it occurs, must have content, and it must have economic and commercial substance. The content, in my view, needs to be structural in nature, not simply transactional.
Creativity is required.
Political and economic constraints notwithstanding, the Zhu visit should be the occasion for initiatives that promote important structural innovations in the ways the two countries conduct their commercial relations. I welcome letters from CBR readers on the most promising and realistic structural initiatives to be pursued in the event that the Chinese premier visits the United States in the spring. Continued challenges to business development in China Though slow progress on some deep-structure problems that have long plagued foreign firms in the PRC will be made, PRC economic growth will likely continue to slow. Year 2000 US companies are grappling with the implications of the Y2K problem for their operations worldwide. The level of their concern with regard to operations in China is high and rising.