Exports to China vital to US economy, job growth: USCBC

WASHINGTON - Exports of goods and services to China continue to play an essential role in the US economy and job growth, according to a report released Thursday by the US-China Business Council (USCBC).

US goods exports to China totaled $113 billion last year, down from the previous two years, but China remained the third-largest export market for American goods, USCBC said in an annual report on US state exports to China.

The report noted that the rapid growth in US services exports to China is an important new development of bilateral economic relationship. In 2014, the most recent complete year of available data, US service exports to China reached 42 billion dollars, making China the United States' fourth-largest services export market.

Despite of a slowdown in China's economy and trade growth, "US exports of goods and services to China have grown faster than exports to any other major US trading partner over the past decade", the report said.

US goods exports to China increased 115 percent from 2006 to 2015, while US services exports to China increased more than 300 percent from 2006 to 2014, according to the USCBC.

"Most states have seen significant increases in exports of goods and services to China since 2006," the report said, adding that thirty-one states experienced at least triple-digit goods export growth to China in the past decade and every US state had triple-digit services export growth to China over the same period.

The report also noted that exports of goods and services to China helped support a wide range of industries including transportation equipment, agriculture, computers and electronics, chemicals, travel and education, business and professional services, and financial services in the United States.

While China is a significant market for American exports, the US has a small share of China's overall market. US goods accounted for only 6.5 percent of China's total imports last year, the report said, urging the United States to push forward negotiations with China on a high-standard bilateral investment treaty, which would facilitate and expand US exports to China.

The two countries have held 26 rounds of investment treaty talks since negotiations started in 2008. China and US officials have signaled a willingness to finalize a deal before US President Barack Obama leaves the White House in January 2017.