According to the U.S. government’s statistics, last year China’s trade surplus with the United States reached nearly 200 billion. The trade gap was so big; Americans complained that China was keeping its currency artificially low, making Chinese goods cheaper in the United States and making goods more expensive in China.
But, the Chinese government’s statistics showed that the trade surplus with the U.S. was only about 100 billion U.S. dollars, and the figure was much smaller than that of the U.S.
So is it 100 billion or 200 billion?
Robert Cooper, the United States International Trade Commissioner, said two countries should work together to diminish statistical errors and standardize the statistics methods.
He is right. Find the correct number first.
I agree - these statistics are confusing, and this is something I often cover on my blog. In this case there is obviously a political element (to do with the US trade defecit). The US and China have different ways of calculating trade. So both may be "true" in their own way. The important thing to know is that there is not one definitive figure.
For example the US counts Hong Kong exports (and the added value) as coming from China, while China does not. More on this is here: http://www.chinabusinessservices.com/blog/?p=226.
Posted by: Jeremy Gordon | November 2, 2006 1:48 AM | Permalink to Comment