WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- Business leaders in the United States say efforts to prevent sales of sensitive technologies to China should not be spill over to more basic forms of commerce between the two countries. After a House committee today released a report on alleged Chinese espionage on U.S. technologies, Washington's trade associations were calling for cool heads to prevail and continued engagement with the Chinese on trade issues. ``It is in our interest to have as cordial a relationship as possible with China,'' said Willard Workman, vice president international for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ``We can't really ignore a country that has a quarter of the earth's population.'' The Chamber and other trade associations took the position that while steps should be taken to keep sensitive U.S. technology out of the wrong hands, security should not come at the expense of efforts to open up markets in China. ``It is important to recognize the real problem is that it seems easier to breach our national security than to penetrate the regulations and bureaucracy that control our commercial exports,'' said Jerry Jasinowski, President of the National Association of Manufacturers. ``We should focus on the real problem of national security, but not shut down trade that is in our interest.'' Determining just what products should be considered ``critical,'' however, could be as difficult task as foreign policy, national security and trade issues converge, Workman said. The Aerospace Industries Association, for example, used today's release of the House report to cry foul over restrictions on commercial satellite exports the association feels are appropriate only for military satellites. ``It is a debate in which the business community will be involved,'' he said. Workman pegged annual U.S. exports to China at about $12-$13 billion out of a total U.S. export value of about $475 billion. ``We sell more to Brazil,'' he said, adding that China exports to the United States consisted largely of clothing, shoes and low-end electronic goods. Commerce Secretary William M. Daley said in a May 20 speech that U.S. imports from China in March were 11 percent over levels for March, 1998. Exports to China for the period were down 15.5 percent.  