A promising growth engine

THE US-CHINA BUSINESS COUNCIL HAS TIMELY highlighted a key fact, which has long been eclipsed by the ballooning and controversial US trade deficit with China, namely that the growth in US exports to China have far outpaced its growth in exports to the rest of the world over the past decade.

This truth deserves not only close attention from US vice-president Joe Biden, who is visiting China to advance steady and sustainable bilateral relations between the world's two largest economies. More importantly, it demands the full attention of US policymakers and politicians who are frequently tempted by anti-China trade protectionism at home.

A report released on Wednesday by the US-China Business Council, a nonprofit organization of roughly 240 leading US companies doing business with China, pointed out that, in 2010, US exports to China rose 32 percent. Meanwhile, more than 76 percent of US congressional districts witnessed their growth in exports to China outperform that of any other market.