Trade wars. Nuclear war?

Lots of tough talk, lately.

Powerful members of Congress yesterday announced plans to introduce bills aimed at punishing China for some of its trade practices, making it likely that passage of such legislation will be necessary to secure approval of the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, threw his weight behind legislation that would allow U.S. companies to seek duties on goods found to be subsidized by the Chinese government. Thomas acknowledged that he had resisted previous versions of the bill, but was coming around in part because a few lawmakers -- notably fellow Republican Phil English (Pa.) -- were insisting on it as the price of their support for CAFTA.

From both sides of the Pacific.

BEIJING -- A Chinese general said Beijing might respond with nuclear weapons if the United States attacked China in a conflict over Taiwan, news reports said Friday.

The comments could add to tensions with Washington at a time of U.S. worries about China's military buildup and the proposed takeover of the oil company Unocal Corp. by a Chinese state-run company.


"If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition into the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu, a dean at China's National Defense University, told visiting Hong Kong-based reporters. His remarks were reported by The Asian Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.

Zhu stressed that he was expressing a personal view, not official policy, and was confident that China and the United States would not go to war, the reports said. While Zhu is a serving officer, he isn't involved in policymaking.

Um, let's all stand down, people. Events that led to the war in Asia in the 30s and 40s began with Japanese militarism and nationalism coalescing just as the U.S. sought to punish the country economically.

For members of Congress: Lets keep in mind that China has a fairly significant and growing amount of leverage over the U.S. economy.

For Chinese generals: It was in part the arrogance of the Kaiser's generals who felt they could continue to provoke the U.S. by sinking trading vessels and proposing a weird alliance with Mexico that led to this country's entry into World War I, guaranteeing defeat for imperial Germany.