More recently, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman welcomed Mr. Locke's comments but said Beijing hasn't yet seen movement to ease restrictions.

One constituency remains quietly in the background: U.S. corporations that make items that are found on the control lists and otherwise affected by the policy. It's a touchy subject: Few are likely to want to be seen making money on technologies that have the potential of narrowing the U.S. military lead over China.

Some such companies are represented by a subgroup of the American Chamber of Commerce in China called the Export Compliance Working Group. Founded in 2006, the working group says its mission is to facilitate civilian high-tech trade between the U.S. and China, as well as undertake other activities related to the controls (pdf).

The working group has a role in the plans Mr. Locke outlined for the control-regime restructuring, specifically a trade-fair and information-sharing event planned for late May and early June n Shanghai, according to a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Beijing.

Efforts to solicit comment from corporate members of the committee over the past week or so have been largely unsuccessful.