U.S. Exports to China Remain Strong

Nineteen U.S. states had more than $1 billion in export sales to China last year, according to an annual survey by the U.S.-China Business Council.

"In the midst of a global recession, China continued to prove itself an important export market for U.S. manufacturers and farmers," said John Frisbie, USCBC president.

California remains the nation’s export leader to China with $9.7 billion in exports for 2009, followed by Washington ($9.1 billion) and Texas ($8.9 billion). Top exports in value were computers and electronics, agricultural products, chemicals and transportation equipment.

China is the third-largest U.S. export market, after Canada and Mexico. The $69.6 billion in U.S. sales to China during 2009 was down 0.2 percent while U.S. exports to other countries fell nearly 20 percent.

“China outperformed as an export market for U.S. goods, despite the recession. In fact, as the year came to a close, U.S. exports to China set monthly records in November and December and continued strong growth in the first two months of 2010,” Frisbie said.

Members of Congress have been pressing for an upward revaluation of China’s currency, which U.S. manufacturers contend is manipulated to favor Chinese exporters.

“There is no disagreement that China needs an exchange rate that better responds to China’s global trade flows,” Frisbie said. “But assertions that China’s exchange rate is at the root of U.S. job losses are built on the faulty assumption that every product imported from China would have been made in the U.S. otherwise. That’s simply not plausible.”

Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com.