The Clinton administration resisted congressional pressure to impose sanctions on China even though that is what should have been done for violating its commitments because it wanted to protect the administration's foreign policy record and public standing in the polls.
The Democrats should have been paying more attention to Africa too. Seems they have a history of ignoring what other nations do there:
AUGUST 1997 : (SOUTH AFRICA SELLS ZIRCONIUM TUBING PLANT TO CHINA, NEWSPAPER REPORT OF ILLEGAL CHINESE WORKERS DISMANTLING PLANT ALERTS PEOPLE TO THE SALE RIGHT AROUND THE TIME CHINA HAD CONCLUDED AN AGREMENT WITH IRAN TO BUILD A ZIRCONIUM TUBING PLANT THERE) Abstract : In August 1997, South Africa and China concluded a contract for the sale of a plant used to manufacture zirconium tubing at Pelindaba. The deal was not made public until a South African newspaper revealed the presence of "illegal" Chinese technicians dismantling the plant and packing equipment for export to China. The Chinese workers had entered South Africa with business visas, and had been working without the proper employment visas. According to an unidentified member of the South African government, had it not been for the newspaper report, "there might have been nothing to stop this sensitive equipment leaving the country." The South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) stated that there are three pieces of equipment, described as CNC [computer numerically controlled] machine tools used to make complex molds, require authorization for export under the Nuclear Suppliers Group dual-use guidelines. The South African government requires an end-user certificate from China before it will authorize the export of the equipment. US officials are concerned that China might ship the South African plant to Iran, because China has signed a contract to build a zirconium tube factory in Iran. - "Is Iran In RSA-China Zirconium Deal?," Jane's Pointer, February 1998, p.1 , 1 February 1998 via - "CNS Nuclear and Missile Developments Database: Sample Abstracts on South Africa's Nuclear Doctrine," These abstracts were selected from the over 30,000 entries in the CNS Nuclear and Missile Developments Database., http://www.nti.org/e_research/e1_safrica_nuclear.html.