Complementary economies

Cooperation between China and the US is not only in their own national interests, it is also of significance to global economy

Bilateral trade and economic cooperation between China and the United States have developed steadily since the two countries established diplomatic relations 34 years ago.

Trade in goods between China and the US jumped from $2.45 billion in 1979 to $484.7 billion in 2012. Imports from the US were worth $132.9 billion in 2012, an increase of 8.8 percent over 2011, and the US became China's largest export market again in 2012, with China's exports to the US worth $351.8 billion in 2012, up 8.4 percent on the year before.

By the end of 2012, the US had invested $70.19 billion in 62,369 projects in China , and the US remains one of the largest sources of China's foreign investment. Meanwhile, China's investment in the US has also increased. In 2012 China's non-financial direct investment in the US was $1.87 billion, up 65 percent on 2011. By the end of 2012, Chinese enterprises' non-financial investment in the US totaled $9.4 billion.

As the largest developing country and the largest developed country in the world, China and the US can complement each other in many fields such as natural resources, human resources, capital and technology. The US is now a post-industrialized economy, and it leads the way in high technology and the service industry. China is in the mid to late period of industrialization and has the largest market in the world and the largest pool of cheap labor. Moreover, China will realize its target of becoming a well-off society in 2020, and its per capita GDP is expected to quadruple in 2020 compared with that of 2000. This means a huge demand for mechanical, electrical and agricultural products, luxury goods and services from the US.