BEIJING: China is willing to work with the United States to realize balanced development of trade and investment, a research report by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said.
“Looking into the future, China is willing to make joint efforts with the United States to encourage Chinese enterprises to participate in U.S. infrastructure construction, further open up markets, promote two-way investment and advance bilateral investment treaty negotiations to further strengthen China-U.S. trade and economic cooperation at local levels,” said the Research Report on China-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations.
China will also consider increasing imports from the United States in agricultural products, energy, high-tech products and services, to increase the total benefits while realizing a balanced development of trade and investment, according to the report.
Both China and the United States benefit from trade and economic cooperation. China has maintained a trade surplus in goods, but the United States has also gained tangible benefits.
China is the U.S. largest export market outside North America, and an important export destination for soybeans, cotton, aircraft, automobiles and integrated circuits. In 2016, the United States had a trade surplus in agricultural products of 16.4 billion U.S. dollars.
Over the past 10 years, the average growth rate of U.S. exports to China was nearly three times the growth rate of U.S. exports as a whole, and twice the growth rate of China’s exports to the United States.
The United States has maintained a long-term surplus in service trade. In 2016, it exported 51 movies to China, receiving revenue of 16 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese tourists and students in the United States spent more than 51 billion U.S. dollars.
With respect to investment, U.S.-funded enterprises in China have maintained good performance and gained high profits. Sales revenue in 2015 totaled 517 billion U.S. dollars, and profit reached 36.2 billion U.S. dollars.
Investment from Chinese enterprises in the United States is growing rapidly. Chinese investment projects have taken place in 46 states and 425 congressional districts, creating over 140,000 local jobs.
However, the two sides have generally aimed for win-win results through constructive cooperation.
“Dialogue costs much less than confrontation, and cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the United States,” the report said.
The backdrop for the report is a 100-day action plan for China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, which has had “initial results,” MOC spokesperson Sun Jiwen told a press conference Thursday.
Sun also highlighted the global impact of economic ties between the world’s top two economies, whose economic aggregate accounts for nearly 40 percent of the global total.
“All economies attach great importance to the status quo and future of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation,” Sun said.
