The latest trade data has showed that America benefited a lot
from the service trade with China, said a commentary carried by
Tuesday's The Wall Street Journal.
"The US trade deficit with China is such a hot political issue
in Washington these days that it's easy to forget the gains America
reaps from doing business with China," said the article, adding the
latest trade data on services make for enlightening reading.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that
America's service sector had a US$3.7 billion trade surplus with
China last year.
However, in 2005 the surplus was US$2.4 billion, up from US$515
million in 1992.
US service exports cover a wide range of economic activities,
from parcel shipping to investment banking. Education is one of
America's top service exports (a US$1 billion surplus), said the
article.
China is now the ninth largest purchaser of American services.
According to a study prepared late last year by Oxford Economics
for the US-China Business Council, America's service-trade surplus
could reach US$15 billion a year by 2015.
"We've long argued that the bilateral trade statistics are
meaningless as a sign of economic strength or weakness," said the
commentary. "They can be harmful if politicians use them to justify
protectionist policies."
"The real meaning of the US-China trade figures is that millions
of consenting adults are doing a booming business -- in services as
well as goods," the commentary added.
(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2007)
