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The two-way trade volume between the two countries grew to more than $380 billion last year

YORBA LINDA, California – 09/19/08 – Improving and enhancing trade and business ties between the US and China were the focus of high-level discussions held recently in Southern California between trade officials of both countries including US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan.

The 19th meeting of China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) reached several agreements on several key issues including food security, loans to boost the trade in medical equipment, the promotion of digital TV, agricultural cooperation, and the compilation and dissemination of trade data and economic statistics.

The one-day meeting also saw both sides agree to boost the cooperation between their working groups in such areas as intellectual property rights and the information industry “within the framework of the JCCT agreement,” according to a statement issued to the press at the close of the session.

The Chinese side also announced that Beijing would lift its bird flu-related ban on poultry products from seven US states and conditionally resume imports of American beef, while the US side expressed its stance against trade protectionism and promised to push for the lifting of trade barriers against some Chinese products such as seafood, fruit, and wood products.

The China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade was created to serve as a high-level government-to-government dialogue mechanism to encourage open market opportunities and resolving trade disputes between the two countries.

US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Guttierrez commented on the talks, saying the meeting meeting was "a very robust session with very robust outcomes."

Calling the US-China economic relationship “the fastest the US has ever seen,” the DOC chief said that, “Today, the US is China's No.1 export market, while China is the the US' No. 3 export market. The relation is growing so fast, so quickly, probably unique in history. And we manage this.”

The two-way trade volume between the two countries, he added, grew to more than $380 billion last year from only $4 billion when the JCCT mechanism was initially established in 1983.

Wang, who headed the Chinese delegation, said the JCCT mechanism “has served as a significant platform for Sino-US consultation in such fields as trade and investment and has played an important role in solving their trade problems and extending economic and trade cooperation.”

Noting the two countries “are mutually complementary in economy and enjoy a solid foundation for cooperation,” Wang said the economic and trade ties between the two economic giants “are important to each other and even to the whole world.”

Wang said the meeting “would go a long way to promote bilateral cooperation and create a good atmosphere” for the next China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which will be held later this year.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming and US Agriculture Secretary Edward Schafer also participated in the discussions.

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US High-Tech Exports Total $214 Billion in 2007

WASHINGTON, DC – 09/24/08 – The overall volume of high-tech exports shipped overseas by US-based companies fell by 3% to $214 billion in 2007, but grew in some individual states, according to a new report released by the AeA, the national high-tech industry association; California was the leading high-tech export state with $48.2 billion in exports last year, followed by Texas with $35.9 billion.