The U.S. trade deficit with China is not directly related to the decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs, according to a research report released by the Ministry of Commerce Thursday.
"A number of studies have shown that the reduction in U.S. manufacturing jobs is ascribed to technological progress and industrial upgrading, which is not directly related to the U.S. trade deficit with China," stated the Research Report on China-US Economic and Trade Relations.
The Unites States imports large quantities of high-quality and cheap products from China to maintain low inflation, thus reducing production costs and promoting economic restructuring and upgrading, as well as economic growth, according to the report.
Since imports from China have enhanced the purchasing power of the Americans, blue-collar workers can receive more benefits, the report said.
In addition, China-US trade relations have created a large number of jobs for the U.S. transport, wholesale and retail industries, and the United States gains much through running a trade deficit.
The report noted that over the past decade, the U.S. trade deficit with China had gradually decreased. From 2012 to 2016, China's surplus in trade in goods with the Unites States grew at an average annual rate of only 3.5 percent, far less than that of 42 percent in the first years of China's accession to the WTO from 2001 to 2005 -- the figure in 2016 even dropped by 3.8 percent.
In the future, China's trade surplus with the United States will show a further downward trend due to the rising cost of labor in China, the slowdown in the transfer of manufacturing from other countries and the gradual decline of the share of processing trade.
The report stressed that to reduce U.S. trade deficit with China needs the joint efforts of both sides.
China has made great efforts to cut the trade surplus. Focusing on expanding domestic demand, the Chinese government has intensified its economic restructuring via increased public investment and enhanced private investment in many aspects, with the aim to constantly expand its domestic market.
The U.S. side should also abandon its Cold War mentality, relax control on its exports to China, and create opportunities to expand export of high-tech products to China, the report said.
