American Global Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

American Global Trade - Essay Example But they have also caused some friction. The trade relationship between US and China has become increasingly central to the economies of both countries. China's economy has been growing at roughly ten percent a year for more than two decades, and its growth has been closely tied to the open trade and investment regimes of the major economies of the world. Exports account for 40 percent of China's gross domestic product (GDP), and China has depended on the growth of its export sector to spur modernization of its economy and support improved standards of living. The World Bank estimates that during the past two decades (1980s and 1990s), nearly 400 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty. According to Chinese data, the United States market has directly accounted for 22 percent of China's phenomenal export growth over the last twenty years. The enormous scope and scale of the changes that have occurred in China's trading posture and in our bilateral trade relationship pose continual challenges. ... U.S.-China Trade U.S. policy is to further open China's markets to U.S. firms, and to encourage China to correct imbalances within its system. The U.S. supported China's WTO membership as a big step toward eliminating market barriers to U.S. companies. The U.S. continues to work with China's leaders and reformers to achieve full and effective compliance with China's WTO commitments in order to increase U.S. exports to the PRC. Ever since Deng Xiaoping ushered in a wave of liberalization in the late 1970s, the world has witnessed a surge in Chinese economic power. Over the last quarter century, China has averaged 9.5 percent growth annually, more than quadrupled its gross domestic product (GDP), and lifted over 400 million of its citizens out of poverty. In 1977, China had the thirtieth-ranked trade volume in the world; in ten years it is projected to be the world's top trading nation; and in fifteen, it will likely have the world's largest GDP. This rapid rise was aided by the normal trade relations China established with the United States in 1979, and later by China's accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. But U.S.-Chinese trade relations have always been somewhat uneasy; for many years, Congress used an annual review of China's "Most Favored Nation" trading status to link trade liberalization with Beijing's human rights record. More recently, U.S. leaders have begun to worry about a massive trade imbalance that continues to grow. Protectionists in Washington and Beijing have begun to dig in their heels against the powerful economic forces that are changing their nations, while U.S. calls for China to revalue its currency and crack down on counterfeiting have not made much headway. Trade Volume A major factor in China's quick