GORE CLAIMS HEADWAY MADE IN CHINA : TALKS `PRODUCTIVE' ON TRADE, HUMAN RIGHTS, VICE PRESIDENT SAYS.

Byline: John King Associated Press 

After two days of intensive talks, Vice President Al Gore said China is promising greater access to its markets and listening with a ``more receptive'' ear to U.S. complaints about its human rights record.

Gore called Wednesday's meeting with President Jiang Zemin and earlier talks with Premier Li Peng ``productive, friendly, searching'' and said they elevated U.S.-China relations to a new level of trust.

Gore offered no specifics, however, and America's leaders have heard such promises before. They often have come away convinced they had won Chinese concessions, only to complain later that Beijing was not keeping its end of the deal.

Jiang had this to say of the highest-level U.S. visit to China since the Tiananmen crackdown: ``The past few days have been productive.''

``Good afternoon,'' the president said in English as they started their talks with an energetic hand shake.

``I think we have done some good work here on behalf of the United States and on behalf of the relationship between the United States and China,'' Gore said at a news conference.

He was heading today to Xian and Shanghai, then ending a weeklong Asia trip by updating South Korean leaders on his talks with the Chinese.

Gore's upbeat assessment of U.S.-China relations will be put to the test in the coming months. Both the Clinton administration and the many critics of its China policy will look for tangible evidence that China is living up to its promise to become a more reliable partner.

Additionally, allegations that China tried to funnel money illegally into U.S. elections last year threaten to undermine public support for the Clinton administration's overtures.

Gore said he told the Chinese that the allegations alone won't chill recently warming relations. But it ``would be serious indeed'' if a federal investigation turned up solid proof of the charges, Gore said he told Li.

Earlier, an administration official said Gore did not raise the prospect of repercussions if evidence of Chinese interference surfaced, but Gore was emphatic that he had.

Gore's journey to China underscored the delicate balance he must maintain to remain a loyal Clinton lieutenant while thinking ahead to his own presidential campaign in three years.

On Tuesday, for example, Gore reveled in announcements that Boeing Co. and General Motors Corp. were signing lucrative new deals with the Chinese. But as a result, he was put in the awkward spot of joining in a toast with Li, who issued the martial law decree that allowed the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.

``That is for others to judge,'' Gore said when asked whether the trip had hurt him personally. ``I am not looking at it in that context.''

For his part, Clinton told reporters at the White House: ``So far, I'm quite pleased with what I hear and what I have seen.''

Gore said that in his talks with Jiang and Li, he touched on this summer's transfer of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty and said Chinese leaders assured him they expect a smooth transition.

In discussing human rights, Gore acknowledged ``strong disagreements'' with his hosts but said the tone of the talks was constructive. The positive atmosphere held even as he presented names of several dissidents and political prisoners he said deserved better treatment, Gore said. Advisers said Gore also pressed the Chinese to allow more personal and religious freedoms.

``The response was, I think, a more receptive response than I have had in previous discussions with Chinese leaders on this subject,'' Gore said. ``We are finding ways to communicate more effectively with China's leaders on this topic.''

He could not cite any specific, major promises from his hosts. It was much the same on trade, another perennially prickly issue in the U.S.-China relationship.

The U.S. trade deficit with China totaled almost $40 billion last year. While the Chinese side disputes the U.S. accounting formula, there was no dispute that the problem is growing.