THE CHINA FACTOR

TIME economics correspondent Suneel Ratan says the real APEC action may have been Clinton's buttering-up of China, the big engine fueling the Asian economic explosion and arguably APEC's most important partner. The Chinese are "going to be like Japan, but outstrip our Japanese problem by an order of magnitude," Ratan says. The APEC summit, he adds, lays groundwork for serious negotiations with China on what it really wants: entry into the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) sooner than 2020. Not discussed: China's human rights record, which Clinton separated from renewal of China's Most Favored Nation status earlier this year.Post your opinion on theInternationalbulletin board.