Haig off on Asian trip, including stop in China

Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. leaves today (June 10) for the Reagan administration's first high-level contact with China. For his three-day visit to Peking to be success, he and his hosts must skirt wide differences between their governments on the status of Taiwan and US militry sales to Taiwan's government.

If they succeed, the visit will result in friendly rhetoric, fewer tiffs over Taiwan in the future, and, alomost certainly, an announcement that the President will visit China late this year or early next, US officials said.

It will not produce any dramatic agreements, they said, particularly on the matter of US arms sales to China, which are still restricted to "nonlethal" weapons and du al use (military and civilian) technology.