Bush wants Congress to extend normal trade relations to China.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

WASHINGTON _ President Bush on Friday asked Congress to extend normal trade relations with China for another year, arguing that recent strains in the U.S.-China relationship underscore the need for economic cooperation to encourage an "economically open, politically stable and secure China."

The president's decision to grant China normal trade status for another year is sure to trigger a fierce debate in Congress, where some lawmakers want to punish Beijing for detaining a downed U.S. reconnaissance plane and its crew and for human rights violations. Congress has 90 days to override Bush's action.

Bush's administration wants to promote economic relations with China, which U.S. officials hope will erode Beijing's totalitarian political system and help the American economy, while resisting China's efforts to expand its political and military influence in East Asia.

"Fair trade is essential not only to improving living standards for Americans, but also for a strong and productive relationship with China," Bush said in a statement. "Recent events have shown not only that we need to speak frankly and directly about our differences, but that we also need to maintain dialogue and cooperate."

Normal trade status lets Chinese goods flow into the United States with the same low tariffs that apply to most other countries. Imports to America from China last year totaled $22.4 billion; U.S. exports to China were $4.36 billion, including some $3 billion in agricultural products, according to the Commerce Department.

China's trade status is reviewed annually, but Congress agreed last year to make normal trade relations permanent once China is admitted to the World Trade ...