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China premier in Chicago
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April 12, 1999: 11:18 a.m. ET
Amid trade questions, Zhu Rongji makes trip to Mercantile Exchange
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - As he winds up his nine-day trip to the United States, China's Premiere Zhu Rongji makes a most symbolic visit Monday.
In a six-city visit whose main theme has been trade, Zhu will tour the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where agricultural commodities, foreign currencies, interest rates and stock indexes are traded, often internationally and sometimes around the clock.
The tour of the exchange comes as Zhu lobbies to secure China's entry into the World Trade Organization.
Last week, President Clinton and Zhu said they made progress toward this goal. Specifically, the two countries signed an agreement that will open China's market to U.S. exports of citrus, meat products and Pacific Northwest wheat, as well as an agreement to eliminate quotas on imports of autos and auto parts.
But issues remain over WTO membership, like China opening its markets to such industries as banking and securities.
Over the past week, Zhu has used humor and straight talk as he faces not only trade disagreements, but touchy areas topics like human rights and nuclear espionage.
But the trip hasn't been all about seriousness. The premiere of the world's must populous country, it seems, is a football fan. And after making a specific request, he spent Sunday in Denver, home of the 1999 Super Bowl champion Broncos. There, quarterback John Elway presented Zhu with a replica of his No. 7 jersey. 
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