Jack Valenti, chairman and CEO of The Motion Picture Association, has enlisted a who's who of Hollywood's most influential power-brokers to pressure the US Congress into bolster trade relations with China.

Valenti, who will head up a new committee comprised of leading media tycoons and studio bosses, said the lobby group believes "it is in the long-term interests of our country that we put in place a sensible, enduring relationship with the largest nation on earth," said Valenti. "This promotes dialogue instead of discord, and is the best way to prevent antagonisms which benefit no one."

Among the moguls serving on the committee are News Corp's Rupert Murdoch, Viacom's Sumner Redstone, Time Warner's Gerald Levin, Walt Disney's Michael Eisner and Seagram's Edgar Bronfman Jr. Among the Hollywood heavy-hitters are Barry Meyer and Alan Horn of Warner Bros., Alex Yemenidjian and Chris McGurk of MGM, John Calley of SPE, Bill Mechanic of Fox Filmed Entertainment, Sherry Lansing of Paramount Pictures and Ron Meyer of Universal Studios.

Congress is expected to examine the issue of permanent 'Normal Trade Relations' with China in the coming months.