Foreword
China is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, witha GDP (gross domestic product) that has increased at an averageannual rate of 9.4 percent over the last decade. The World Bankprojects that by the year 2020 China will be the second largesteconomy after the United States.China is also the fourth largest U.S. trading partner, supplyingour market with a variety of low-cost consumer goods and importingU.S. aircraft, fertilizer, and machinery. But while China’s growthhas expanded U.S.-China commercial ties, our imports from Chinahave far exceeded our exports to China — resulting in a U.S.trade deficit that reached nearly $69 billion in 1999….
