China-US trade offers mutual benefit, win-win progress: vice premier
18/5/2007 15:29
The China-US business and trade relations are of win-win in nature and
the two countries should address bilateral economic and trade problems in an
active and pragmatic way, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi has said.
"Mutual
benefit and win-win progress: These are what China-US business and trade
relations are all about, and these intrinsic qualities have made our trade ties
strong and vibrant," the vice premier said in an opinion article published in
The Wall Street Journal yesterday.
"China's exports brings incontrovertible
economic benefits to the US," Wu said, citing a recent report, "China: The
Balance Sheet," jointly published by two major American think tanks -- the
Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Institute for
International Economics.
According to the report, the rapid growth of the
Chinese market boosts US exports; China's exports to the US and its investments
in American financial assets help restrain US inflation and interest rates, and
thus permit faster economic growth and more job creation.
The win-win nature
of this relationship is amply demonstrated by the rapid growth of bilateral
trade, Wu said. According to US statistics, bilateral trade has registered a
144-fold increase, or 20.2 percent annual growth, from the beginning of
diplomatic relations in 1979 to 2006.
Since joining the World Trade
Organization, China has become America's fourth-largest export market. Over the
same period, the growth rate of US exports to China was 3.7 times that of US
exports to other countries.
Mutually beneficial business and trade relations
also mean good returns on investment made by companies of both sides, Wu
added.
Between 1979, when the policy of reform and opening up was adopted in
China, and the end of this March, 52,887 American investment projects were
undertaken in China, with paid-in investment reaching US$54.7
billion.
American companies have steadily expanded market share in China
through investment, with sales in China exceeding US$75 billion in 2004. A
survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China shows that in
2005, sales of American companies in China reached US$61.1 billion, and US$47.6
billion of American products made in China were exported.
China-US business
and trade relations also increase the well-being of the two peoples, create many
jobs and give consumers more choices in both countries, Wu said.
She cited
Morgan Stanley as saying that four to eight million American jobs are closely
associated with trade with China, and China's exports have saved American
consumers US$600 billion over the past decade and nearly US$100 billion alone in
2004.
According to Wu, business and trade relations between China and the
United States have also contributed to the growth and transition of their
respective economies. Labor-intensive Chinese exports have enabled the US to
focus on developing capital and advanced technology-intensive products.
A
report issued by the US-China Business Council in early 2006 shows that the
expansion of trade with and investment in China has caused US manufacturing
employment to drop, but helped create more in financial, redistribution and
service sectors. US employment data also shows that although the US lost three
million manufacturing jobs between 1996 and 2005, the service sector created 15
million new jobs over the same period.
While stressing that China-US business
and trade relations are cooperative in nature, Wu also acknowledged that
problems, differences and even disputes have arisen in the course of the rapid
expansion of bilateral relationship.
However, the vice premier insisted that
mutual benefit and win-win progress remain the defining feature of bilateral
business and trade ties. "This is the larger picture that no problem can
overshadow."
China and the US, both being stakeholders and constructive
partners, should address their differences and disputes in a coolheaded,
objective and responsible way, she added, noting that "attempts to politicize
trade issues should be resisted."
Noting trade deficits are caused by a
number of factors associated with economic globalization such as savings and
investment correlations, the international division of labor and investment
relocation, Wu said the US trade deficit with China in goods is a reflection of
these macroeconomic factors.
It does not reflect the overall and genuine
movement of interests in China-US business and trade relations, she
stressed.
The vice premier said that China does not seek a trade surplus and
has set as a basic goal of sustaining economic growth and promoting balance in
international payment and macroeconomic stability by expanding domestic demand
and particularly, consumption demand.
She urged the US sides to give full
play to its comparative advantage as a global leader in science and technology,
enhance mutual trust and relax export controls to boost the competitiveness of
American companies, reverse the trend of dwindling market share of American
high-tech products in China, and reduce its trade deficit with China.
Talking
about the upcoming Second China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue scheduled to be
held in Washington next week, Wu said the forum is an important platform for
growing bilateral business and trade relations and the promotion of the sound
and steady growth of constructive and cooperation relations between the two
countries.
The vice premier, who will head the Chinese delegation for the
forum, called on both sides to increase mutual understanding and trust, overcome
the interference of noneconomic factors, and resolve the problems in bilateral
economic and trade ties in an active and pragmatic way.
Wu said she believed
as long as the two sides continue to maintain an open dialogue and cooperation
in accordance with the principle of consultation on an equal footing and for
mutual benefits, China-US business and trade relations will have an even
brighter future and bring greater benefits to their peoples.
The First
China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in Beijing in December. The
dialogue was jointly launched by Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President
George W. Bush in September last year.
Xinhua
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