To cut trade deficit, US must first accept facts

The US' trade deficit, which the White House used as a pretext to launch a trade war against China, is actually a natural outcome of bilateral trade. The US supposes it has stepped into the so-called post-industrial society and occupies the high end of the international industrial chain - which comprise the service and financial industries, especially the financial industry.

Michael E. Port, a professor at Harvard University Business School, too, believes the US occupies the top end of the global industrial chain - and he is among many Americans who do so.

But only after the subprime crisis broke out in the US in 2008 did Americans began reflecting on the global industrial chain. According to US economist Tylor Cowen, the financial industry contributes to 8 percent of the United States' GDP, but it doesn't create actual wealth growth. Besides, people also tend to ignore the fact that the financial industry gives rise to many problems that are serious, even destructive.