Commotion in state next to China (7)
I believe the answer is:
palaver
'commotion' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'state next to china' is the wordplay.
'state' becomes 'aver' (both can mean to declare).
'next to' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'china' becomes 'pal' (china plate is Cockney rhyming slang for mate).
'aver' after 'pal' is 'PALAVER'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for palaver that I've seen before include "Powwow - a lot of fuss" , "Long tedious fuss" , "tedious bureaucracy" , "Confused talk and activity" , "Fuss and bother" .)