The United States' economy is four times that of Japan, but the
former's exports to China are only half of the latter.
So what's up? Are Japanese goods far more attractive than
American products in China?
"No," said Charlie Martin, president of the American Chamber of
Commerce in China (AmCham). "All branches of the US Government need
to recognize that our failure to take full advantage of the
opportunity that China presents is contributing to our bilateral
trade deficit."
Martin made the remarks yesterday when releasing the chamber's
annual white paper on American business in China.
The paper urges Washington to take concrete steps to improve
commercial relations with China including improving export
promotions, visa policies and export controls or American
competitiveness in China would be in jeopardy.
Washington has frequently blamed China's trade and currency
policies for its huge deficit with the country. According to US
figures, its trade deficit with China increased by 24 percent to
US$202 billion last year; China puts the figure at US$102 billion,
using different calculation methods.
Both Japan and Germany have substantial government offices and
industry organizations to promote trade; and the United States ends
up ceding market share to competitor countries because they devote
more resources, Martin said.
The paper urged the US Government to significantly expand
investment in export promotion at the federal and state levels with
a focus on helping small- and medium-sized firms sell more products
to China.
"Committing more resources and searching for better approaches
will greatly enhance our commercial dialogue, one that has suffered
recently from fear, apprehension, and misunderstanding," said
Martin.
US companies will trail the competition in capturing China
market share if the US Government fails to do its job, the paper
said.
As China modernizes and its buying power increases, US export
opportunities will increase as many high-end products made in the
United States will be attractive to the Chinese.
The chamber urged Washington to review policies that create
uncertainty for potential Chinese customers, such as tough visa
procedures and a restrictive and non-transparent export control
regime.
The visa policy remains a distinct deterrence to "buying
American," said Donald R. Forest, co-chair of the chamber's Public
Policy Development Committee
Understaffed consular missions and cumbersome visa process
continue to unwittingly drive potential Chinese customers to the
Europeans, Japanese and others.
The paper said 44 percent of companies surveyed said they lost
"significant business" while nearly 70 percent have stopped
arranging meetings in the United States due to worries about
potential visa obstacles.
Export controls are another big concern for US companies. Though
the Chinese Government has repeatedly pointed out that it is a key
problem in the huge deficit, the US Government has done little to
improve the situation.
AmCham fully supports a targeted and efficient export control
program that keeps American military technology safe, Martin said
however, the current program is neither sufficiently targeted nor
efficient as relevant rules are vague.
"This costs US firms jobs and diverts business to our
competitors," he added.
Many US technology firms feel that the controls do little to
protect national security as the relevant technologies can be
purchased from non-US sources, while their own economic strength is
being eroded.
(China Daily May 17, 2006)