The United States benefited from China's rapid economic growth through exports to China, with all its states reaping profits. China is among the top five export markets of 40 U.S. states. Over the past 10 years, there has been a 330-percent increase in U.S. machinery and agricultural exports to China, far beyond the increase of 29 percent in its exports to other regions of the world.

China has become the largest single overseas market of U.S.-produced soybeans and cotton as well as an important export market for cars, airplanes and other machinery products. A 2010 report of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) said China continues to be an important export destination for U.S. manufacturers and farm owners during the global economic recession. Zhou Shijian, a senior research fellow with the Center for U.S.-China Relations at Tsinghua University said U.S. President Barack Obama would hardly live up to his promise of doubling U.S. exports in the next five years without increasing trade ties with China.

Cheaper goods and more jobs Apart from direct benefits from exports to and investment in China, cooperation with China is also a boon for the U.S. macro economy, demonstrated in improvements in American consumers' living standards because of Chinese exports.

Statistics show daily consumables, such as clothing, shoes, socks, toys, bags and electronic products, account for 75 percent of the Chinese goods entering the U.S. market. These quality products with low prices have greatly improved Americans' lives, increasing their shopping choices and bringing real benefits, especially for low-income groups. It has also led to a relatively low inflation rate for a U.S. economy faced with pressures of fiscal and trade deficits.

A study released by the U.S. financial services firm Morgan Stanley shows Americans saved more than $300 per capita by purchasing products from China in 2009. Another study of the USCBC shows GDP in the United States should have risen another 0.7 percent in 2010 due to its increasing investment in and trade with China, while prices should have fallen by 0.8 percent. The research results mean the disposable income of each U.S. household should rise by $1,000 every year.

Liu Haiquan, Director General of the Comprehensive Department of China's Ministry of Commerce, said, "Chinese goods can meet U.S. consumers' needs and are helpful for stabilizing prices in the U.S. market, reducing the risk of inflation and maintaining the smooth operation of the U.S. economy."

Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation also increased the number of jobs in the United States. Gary Locke, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, said in his speech at the USCBC last October, "If we just boosted our exports to Asia by one percent that would support another 100,000 new jobs in the United States." Accordingly, U.S. exports to China from 2001 to 2008 provided the United States with 2.57 million new job opportunities.

Direct investment from Chinese companies to the United States has also increased dramatically in recent years, making positive contributions to local employment. Chinese giants such as COSCO, CNPC and Lenovo have brought a lot of employment opportunities as well as economic and social benefits to residents in the United States. The Haier Group has created thousands of new jobs for the City of Camden since its establishment of industrial parks in South Carolina in 1999. In every 10 Camden families, you can find at least one person working as a Haier employee. The city thus developed into a "hometown" of household appliances with an annual output of more than 200,000 products. The Wanxiang Group has invested in nearly 30 projects in the United States, creating nearly 5,000 new jobs. In 2009, when many U.S. enterprises cut jobs, the Wanxiang Group created a number of new jobs for Illinois through investment projects.

Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is the result of the increasingly international nature of the globalized trade market. The United States could use this to its own benefit, combining its advantages in financing, technology and management with China's abundant labor resources.

Therefore, the international competitiveness of U.S. products and U.S. enterprises could be improved and U.S. industries' share in the international market could be expanded. At the same time, economic and trade cooperation with China creates conditions for U.S. industries' transfer to high-value-added sectors. Take computer manufacturing as an example. China produced 150 million computers in 2008, with almost all the chips used in the central processors imported from U.S. enterprises such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

China is now the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds. Statistics released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury showed by October 2010, the balance of U.S. Treasury bonds held by China had reached $906.8 billion. During the global financial crisis, China did not trim its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds, but increased them. The move is important for the United States if it is to maintain a stable and mobile financial market, ease its credit crunch and promote trade financing, beneficial for the country's goals in macroeconomic regulation. A report released by the U.S. Congressional Research Service in July 2009 pointed out that if China had not purchased U.S. bonds on a large scale, U.S. interest rates would have increased 0.5 percentage points. Accordingly, the United States can save itself $61.6 billion in bond interest payments every year.