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The Clintons depart for China

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bill Clinton left for a diplomatic trip to China Wednesday saying he hoped a flap over three banned American journalists would not endanger possible agreements on nuclear nonproliferation and the detargeting of nuclear missiles.

"I hope we can deal with all these issues independently," Clinton told reporters after signing a child support bill.

Clinton said China made "a clear mistake" in withdrawing visas for three correspondents from Radio Free Asia. To underscore his displeasure, he scheduled a last minute interview with the banned journalists to "send a clear signal that we don't believe ideas need visas and that we support freedom of the press in our country."

The White House strongly protested China's move to keep the three journalists out, but the Chinese government refused to reverse its decision and gave no reason for it. Radio Free Asia is a U.S. government-funded group that broadcasts into China against the wishes of the government in Beijing.

Clinton's nine-day visit to China is the first for an American president since before the 1989 Chinese army assault on pro-democracy demonstrators at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Outrage over that massacre, and a series of other controversies cloud the president's visit.

Generating the most debate are charges that China:

• Stole sensitive U.S. missile technology,
• Funneled campaign cash to Democratic politicians,
• Helped Pakistan develop its nuclear arsenal, and
• Continued to violate human rights, including a policy of forced abortions as part of a national population control campaign.

Zemin on his visit to the White House last fall

Analyst Peter Rodman of the Nixon Center told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Clinton shouldn't go to China at all and, if he must go, "Instead of trying to defend past mistakes, he needs to announce a change in our policy toward China."

Clinton's comments before the trip have described the reasons for U.S. engagement with China.

"Seeking to isolate China will not free one more political dissident, will not open one more church to those who wish to worship, will do nothing to encourage China to live by the laws it has written," he said.

The president's visit was originally scheduled for the fall, but aides say it was moved up because of the pressing importance of U.S.-Chinese relations.

Correspondent Wolf Blitzer, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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