A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

ates . The potential damage to U.S. interests from a trade war was highlighted T

hursday with reports that China had agreed to a $ 5 billion Boeing Aircraft deal

 . ( Optional add end ) More surprising was the president 's frank conclusion th

at his year-old policy had not worked and that it was time to switch . In doing 

so , he adopted some of the reasoning put forward by former President Bush , who

se policy toward China Clinton had sharply criticized during their 1992 campaign

 . Clinton said more could be gained by engaging the Chinese than by isolating t

hem . He also argued that culturally , it is difficult for China , the world 's 

most populous nation , with 1.2 billion people , to appear to be buckling to pre

ssure from the United States . `` We need to place our relationship into a large

r and more productive framework , '' he said in a statement . `` I think we have

 to see our relations with China within the broader context of our policies with

in the Pacific-Asian region . '' In May 1993 , working with Mitchell and others 

in Congress , Clinton issued an executive order that gave China a year to make s

pecific strides in its human rights record or face the end of its MFN status thi

s June . The order set two conditions that Clinton said had been met : removing 

emigration restrictions and complying with a U.S.-China agreement on exports of 

goods made with prison labor . But the order also required the secretary of stat

e to determine , in making a recommendation , whether China had made `` overall 

, significant progress '' in five other areas . These included adherence to the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights ; releasing and accounting for political p

risoners ; ensuring humane treatment of prisoners ; protecting Tibet 's religiou

s and cultural heritage , and permitting international radio and TV broadcasts i

nto China . Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher `` has reached a conclusion

 with which I agree , that the Chinese did not achieve overall significant progr

ess in all the areas outlined in the executive order relating to human rights , 

even though clearly there was progress made in important areas , '' Clinton said

 .

 WASHINGTON The White House released additional records Thursday related to firs

t lady Hillary Rodham Clinton 's commodities trading activities , in further eff

orts to show she did nothing illegal or unethical in making her investments . Th

e White House also issued a brief analysis by a commodities expert who was asked

 by the Clintons to review her trading , in which he found that she `` violated 

no rules in the course of her transactions . '' Leo Melamed , former chairman of

 the Chicago Mercantile Exchange , one of the nation 's largest commodities exch

anges , noted in a statement that the new records released by Mrs. Clinton confi

rms his assessment that she broke no rules . The new data from the Chicago excha

nge `` largely confirms and also complements '' records from Mrs. Clinton 's bro

kerage account released last month by the White House , he said . `` These recor

ds are being released today in order to give as complete a picture as possible o

f Mrs. Clinton 's trading , '' said Lisa Caputo , Mrs. Clinton 's press secretar

y . Caputo said the records were not released earlier because Mrs. Clinton had n

ot known of their existence at the Chicago exchange . Caputo said the new record

s corroborate those released by Mrs. Clinton last month from her brokerage accou

nt at the REFCO commodities brokerage firm , where she invested beginning in 197

8 . In particular , the new records confirm , Melamed 's review stated , that th

e first lady did not violate the rules in her first , and perhaps most controver

sial commodities trade , in which she turned a $ 1,000 investment into $ 6,300 o

vernight . Melamed said the records provide more detailed information about Mrs.

 Clinton 's first day of trading than was available from the earlier records . T

hey show , he said , that Mrs. Clinton had risked her money in the transaction ,

 demonstrating that it was a legitimate investment and not some form of favorabl

e insider transaction arranged by her broker . In that one trade , Mrs. Clinton 

sold 10 December live cattle contracts Oct. 11 , 1978 , at the price of $ 57.55 

a pound , and offset this trade with a purchase of 10 December live cattle contr

acts Oct. 12 , 1978 at the price of $ 56.10 a pound for a profit of $ 5,300 , af

ter commissions . ( Optional add end ) He noted while Mrs. Clinton did not have 

enough margin , or reserves in her account to cover her exposure in the trade , 

that `` does not represent a rule violation by the customer . Rather , it is an 

issue between the clearing firm and the exchange . '' His statement is consisten

t with the White House 's previous assertions that if there was any such rule vi

olations , they were the fault of her broker , and not Mrs. Clinton . Melamed sa

id some records from the exchange concerning Mrs. Clinton 's trading activity we

re either missing or incomplete , which may have been caused by REFCO 's practic

e of conducting `` batch reporting '' of trades . `` To an extent the firm handl

ing Mrs. Clinton 's account was penalized by the exchange for allegedly utilizin

g some of these procedures improperly , '' he said . Critics have said such batc

h trading was prevalent at the REFCO brokerage office in Springdale , Ark. , whe

re Mrs. Clinton traded , and that her broker allocated winning trades from those

 larger blocks to favored customers . Melamed said such batch trading was `` mor

e prevalent in the less-regulated environment of 15 years ago . ''

 WASHINGTON Abandoning a course set a year ago , President Clinton Thursday rene

wed China 's preferential trading status even though he said Beijing had failed 

to curb human rights abuses . Clinton cited both strategic and economic reasons 

for not breaking commercial ties with the world 's most populous nation , but fo

und himself initiating a policy close to one he had denounced and called inadequ

ate to end repression in China . `` I am moving to delink human rights from the 

annual extension of most-favored-nation trading status for China , '' he said , 

because `` we have reached the end of the usefulness of that policy , and it is 

time to take a new path . '' The long-awaited announcement cheered the internati

onal business community , which had lobbied hard for renewal of China 's MFN sta

tus , but disappointed key congressional allies who had favored tough trade sanc

tions on China . Human rights groups also slammed Clinton 's announcement , sayi

ng it left the United States with little leverage to improve conditions in China

 . There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government about Clinton 's a

nnouncement , which was made early Friday Beijing time . But Thursday a Foreign 

Ministry spokesman , Wu Jianmin , said at his weekly press briefing that `` The 

Chinese side does not accept attaching any conditions '' to the MFN trade benefi

ts . `` Extending MFN is in the interests of China and the United States . '' Cl

inton insisted he was not giving up on improving human rights in China , and in 

fact did ban importation of about $ 200 million in annual shipments of Chinese w

eapons and ammunition to indicate his displeasure with China 's human rights rec

ord . He also continued some sanctions put in place after the Chinese government

 crushed the pro-democracy demonstrations five years ago . Yet just a year ago ,

 Clinton issued an executive order insisting that renewal of MFN status would co

me only with significant progress in human rights by the Chinese leadership . Cl

inton said Thursday that China had met two mandatory conditions of the order rel

ating to immigration and importation of products made by prision labor but had f

ailed make progress on other provisions . During the presidential campaign in 19

92 , Clinton repeatedly accused then-President Bush of `` coddling '' the Chines

e government by allowing MFN status without demanding improvements in human righ

ts . In essence , experts said , Clinton Thursday virtually adopted the former B

ush policy , just as he has with such global hotspots in Bosnia and Haiti . Clin

ton , however , argued that conditions had changed , and thus `` we are far more

 likely to have human rights advance when it is not under the cloud of annual re

view of MFN . '' Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell , D-Maine , who usually 

supports Clinton , said he disagreed with the decision . `` It will confirm for 

the Chinese Communist regime the success of its policy of repression on human ri

ghts and manipulation on trade , '' he said . Mitchell said he will introduce le

gislation seeking additional sanctions , but most political experts expect Clint

on to prevail in any fight with Congress . Indeed , Clinton frequently noted tha

t many other members of Congress have changed their minds on the issue as well .

 Most-favored-nation status means that Chinese goods will continue to be shipped

 to the United States with low tariffs . All but eight countries have MFN tradin

g status , and its loss would have raised tariffs on Chinese products such as sh

oes and toys as much as tenfold . Trade with China now runs about $ 40 billion a

 year , but all but $ 9 billion of that are imports from China , the U.S. Commer

ce Department says . In fact , 40 percent of all the toys sold in America are ma

de in China . But some American companies , especially aerospace concerns , truc

k manufacturers and telecommunications companies , have experienced significant 

growth in sales to China in recent years . Trade with China now supports about 1

50,000 U.S. jobs , Clinton said . Commerce Secretary Ron Brown said Thursday , `

` China is going to be spending $ 600 billion on infrastructure projects between

 now and the year 2000 . We 'd like American companies to participate in that . 

'' ( Optional add end ) Indeed , the business community , salivating over the pr

ospect of 1.2 billion Chinese buying U.S. products , had lobbied the Clinton adm

inistration and Capitol Hill with increasing intensity to break the link between

 trade status and human rights . `` For many of our principal industries , the p

reservation of most-favored-nation for China has been the No. 1 priority this ye

ar , '' said Calman Cohen , vice president of the Emergency Committee of America

n Trade , a coalition of American companies actively involved in the debate . ``

 The business lobbying has been unprecedented , '' said Richard Dicker , associa

te counsel for Human Rights Watch/Asia , which opposed renewal of MFN status and

 heavily cricized Clinton 's decision . In a White House briefing after the pres

ident 's appearance , national security adviser Anthony Lake disclosed that Clin

ton had decided `` some weeks ago , '' even before he had the verdict on China '

s human rights record , to stop holding the issue of trade over Beijing 's head 

. The reason ? The president had decided that while the Chinese record on human 

rights remained poor , the administration had `` a very important strategic obje

ctive , '' Lake said , `` building a long-term relationship '' with the largest 

and potentially the richest and most powerful nation in Asia which is where the 

president sees the U.S. economic future .

 WASHINGTON A senior White House administrator who took a presidential helicopte

r to play golf at a county club during work hours resigned Thursday under pressu

re from an angry President Clinton . In announcing the departure of David Watkin

s , Clinton said at a late afternoon news conference that he was `` very upset '

' about the Tuesday afternoon helicopter-and-golf incident . Clinton said Watkin

s will fully reimburse the government for his personal use of the Marine aircraf

t , which a Pentagon source said costs $ 2,380 an hour to operate . `` Mr. Watki

ns offered his resignation , and I insisted that the taxpayers be reimbursed , '

' a visibly perturbed Clinton said . `` Some way or another they will be , and w

e 'll tell you how when we do it . '' Clinton said `` the most important thing t

o me '' is that `` the Treasury will not be out one red cent for anything that h

appened there . '' Watkins , 52 , a businessman and longtime Clinton friend from

 Arkansas , was assistant to the president for administration and management , r

esponsible for White House security , military liaison and other functions . Ear

lier Thursday , presidential press secretary Dee Dee Myers announced that Clinto

n had ordered White House chief of staff Thomas `` Mack '' McLarty to investigat

e the outing at Holly Hills Country Club at Ijamsville , Md. , 45 miles north of

 Washington , near Camp David . McLarty was probing whether Watkins violated a 1

993 Clinton executive order on use of government aircraft . Clinton promulgated 

the policy in light of former President Bush 's firing of White House chief of s

taff John Sununu for repeatedly treating taxpayer-paid air travel as a personal 

perk . ( Begin optional trim ) `` This is something we take very seriously , '' 

Myers said . McLarty conferred with Watkins on the matter as Clinton was taking 

Republican flak over news reports of the helicopter ride . On the House floor an

d in a letter to Clinton Thursday , Rep. Roscoe Bartlett , R-Md. , who represent

s the region surrounding Camp David , admonished the administration over the `` 

improper appearance of this trip . '' An aide to House Minority Whip Newt Gingri

ch , R-Ga. , gave reporters copies of a Frederick , Md. , News-Post photograph p

ublished Wednesday of three golfers boarding the Marine helicopter at the golf c

ourse . ( End optional trim ) White House officials said Watkins flew to the cou

ntry club with Alphonso Maldon Jr. , head of the White House military office , a

nd Navy Cmdr. Richard Cellon , Camp David 's commanding officer . Whether Watkin

s ' companions will be disciplined was not immediately disclosed . Bush played r

egularly at Holly Hills . A deputy White House press secretary said Wednesday th

at the Watkins party was scouting the club for possible play there by Clinton du

ring a future stay at Camp David , which has no golf course . But Myers withdrew

 that explanation Thursday and said Clinton has no known plans to golf at Holly 

Hills . McLarty co-authored an internal report last year officially reprimanding

 Watkins for his role in the controversial firing of seven White House travel of

fice employees , five of whom later were reinstated in other government jobs . T

he report also faulted McLarty for the handling of the dismissals . McLarty and 

Watkins have been Arkansas friends of long standing . ( Optional add end ) Watki

ns , a Little Rock management consultant who lists his net worth on a federal di

sclosure form at up to $ 1.7 million , had been a business partner of first lady

 Hillary Rodham Clinton . Hillary Clinton netted $ 46,000 on a $ 2,000 investmen

t in a Watkins cellular-phone venture . Watkins wasn't always successful as an e

ntrepreneur . Business Week magazine two weeks ago described Watkins as a dealma

ker who `` has left a trail of disappointed investors '' in `` failed penny-stoc

k companies from New York to Texas , hawking items from cruises to credit cards 

. '' Watkins later defended his business dealings as honorable .

 TOKYO , May 27 Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will not visit Pearl Harbor 

but will pay respects to American war dead at two other sites during a 17-day to

ur of the United States beginning June 10 , the Japanese government announced Fr

iday . The trip will be only the second by an emperor to the United States and t

he first in 19 years . Foreign Ministry diplomats initially had urged the empero

r to visit Pearl Harbor , but fears of repercussions at home from a visit to the

 memorial to the battleship Arizona what many Americans regard as the symbol of 

Japan 's `` sneak attack '' on Dec. 7 , 1941 finally killed the proposal . The c

ouple will instead visit the Punch Bowl cemetery in Honolulu and Arlington Natio

nal Cemetery in Washington . `` If the emperor visited the Arizona memorial , so

me ( Japanese ) would argue that the emperor was being used for political purpos

es , '' said a high Foreign Ministry diplomat who asked not to be named . As `` 

a symbol of the unity of the Japanese people '' under the postwar constitution ,

 the emperor takes overseas trips only `` for the purpose of promoting good will

 and friendship , '' he added . Japan has lived in peace for 49 years since the 

end of World War II , but it has never apologized outright to its war victims . 

The U.S. visit by Akihito , 60 , and Michiko , 59 , underscores the changes that

 have slowly enveloped the imperial family since the end of the war . Until the 

late Emperor Hirohito made a trip to Europe as crown prince in 1921 and retraced

 his steps as emperor 50 years later , none of his 123 predecessors had ever lef

t Japan . By contrast , Akihito , tutored in English as a student , and Michiko 

, the first commoner ever to marry an emperor after a courtship that began on a 

tennis court , traveled abroad frequently as crown prince and princess . Includi

ng two stopovers , Akihito has visited the United States four times . One was a 

trip in 1960 when he visited Pearl Harbor before the memorial to the battleship 

Arizona and its crew was built . During the June trip , the imperial couple will

 visit 11 cities including Atlanta , Washington , Los Angeles , San Francisco an

d Honolulu before returning to Tokyo on June 26 . ( Optional add end ) Only nine

 days ago , Michiko delivered a public speech for the first time since she colla

psed Oct. 20 and lost her voice . The Imperial Household Agency said she had rec

overed to the point at which she has `` almost no trouble '' carrying on daily c

onversations . In the Los Angeles area , the imperial couple is scheduled to vis

it the Huntington Library and Art Collections , a Japan-America museum and a ret

irement home for Americans of Japanese origin , and meet former President Reagan

 and his wife , Nancy . In Atlanta , Akihito and Michiko will meet former Presid

ent Carter and his wife , Rosalynn , and Coretta Scott King , the widow of Dr. M

artin Luther King Jr. . Unlike Hirohito and the former Empress Nagako , the coup

le will not visit Disneyland . But they are scheduled to go to a baseball game i

n St. Louis between the Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates .

 WASHINGTON Recent economic statistics paint a picture of an economy growing in 

a moderate , sustainable fashion a picture that should calm fears in financial m

arkets that fast growth is about to trigger a new burst of inflation , according

 to analysts . Worries that the economy might overheat were a major factor in dr

iving up long-term interest rates this year as investors sought higher returns t

o protect themselves against a possible rise in inflation . If those fears are a

llayed , long-term rates should retrace part of their upward track , analysts sa

id . Earlier , analysts had predicted that growth would jump to a 4.5 percent or

 5 percent annual rate in the three months from April through June , with some e

conomists using numbers as high as 6 percent . But with the quarter half over , 

the flow of statistics on initial claims for jobless benefits , retail sales , a

utomobile production , housing starts and new orders for long-lasting goods all 

suggest that the economy is expanding at a solid but more moderate pace of 3.5 p

ercent to 4 percent , analysts said . Friday , the Commerce Department will rele

ase its first revision of growth in the first three months of the year , when th

e economy was slowed by bitter winter weather in the east and a severe earthquak

e in the west . Last month , the government , using incomplete and preliminary d

ata , estimated first-quarter growth at 2.6 percent . Most analysts expect the r

ate to be lowered by a quarter- to a half-percentage point . That , along with T

hursday 's report from the Labor Department that the number of workers filing in

itial claims for unemployment benefits is rising , is likely to figure prominent

ly when Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies before the Senat

e Banking Committee . Some committee Democrats , concerned that increases in sho

rt-term interest rates engineered this year by the Fed are damaging the economy 

, plan to ask Greenspan to justify the rate hikes . In its report , the Labor De

partment said that an average of 366,750 people a week have filed initial claims

 for unemployment claims benefits during the past four weeks . That is the highe

st since February of last year , except for a few weeks last winter when the bad

 weather was putting people out of work . `` Recent evidence suggests that job g

rowth is about to slow from the sharp gains posted during the past several month

s , '' said Bruce Steinberg , macroeconomics manager for Merrill Lynch & Co. in 

New York . The job market still is improving `` but the pace of improvement is s

lowing to a more sustainable rate of gain , '' he said . The Merrill Lynch forec

ast currents pegs the second-quarter rise in the gross domestic product , adjust

ed for inflation , at 3.5 percent to 4 percent . David C. Munro , chief U.S. eco

nomist at High Frequency Economics in New York , has a similar outlook . `` With

 auto output slowing after February , I look for only a 3.5 percent second-quart

er GDP growth rate , '' he said . `` The first-half average will be only 2.75 pe

rcent . '' Steinberg , Munro and many other analysts predict growth in the secon

d half of the year will run at about a 3 percent rate or perhaps a little less .

 WASHINGTON President Clinton , abandoning a central foreign policy principle of

 his administration , announced Thursday that he has decided to `` delink '' Chi

na 's privileged trading status from its human rights record . While acknowledgi