U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission2
Bilateral Trade
U.S. Goods Deficit with China Expands on Stronger Imports
In the first quarter of 2018, the U.S. deficit in goods grew by about 15.5 percent over the first quarter of 2017. This
increase is primarily due to a higher level of imports, which grew 13.6 percent over the same quarter in 2017; U.S.
exports to China also expanded, but at a slower pace at 8.6 percent. As reported by
Reuters
, in March 2018, growth
in goods exports to China was primarily driven by “a surge of deliveries” of civilian aircraft, aircraft component
parts, and soybeans, which dropped the monthly goods trade deficit to $25.9 billion (see Figure 1).1
Figure 1: Monthly Goods Trade with China, January 2016–March 2018
Source
: U.S. Census Bureau, Trade in Goods with China, March 3, 2018.
census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html
.
Oil and Gas Exports Boom
Four of the top five U.S. imports from China grew by more than ten percent year-on-year in the first quarter of
2018, with computer and electronic products comprising over a third of these imports (see Table 1). More than half
of imported product categories saw growth over ten percent year-on-year, and imports of livestock and livestock
products increased by more than 60 percent.
-35%
-25%
-15%
-5%
5%
15%
25%
35%
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMar
201620172018
ye
ar
-o
n-
ye
ar
ExportsImportsTrade Deficit
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission3
Table 1: U.S. Trade with China: Top Five Exports and Imports
Source
: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online, May 3, 2018.
https://usatrade.census.gov/
.
The first quarter of 2018 saw an 88 percent year-on-year increase in oil and gas exports to China. The U.S. oil and
gas export growth received a boost from a recent deal: in February 2018, Cheniere Energy signed a long-term
supplier contract to export an annual 1.2 million tons of LNG to the China National Petroleum Corp.2 Some of that
supply will ship this year. 3 Oil and gas now account for about 8 percent of China’s total imports from the United
States, up from less than 1 percent in the first quarter of 2017.4
Advanced Technology Products Deficit Increases
The U.S. trade deficit in advanced technological products (ATP) stood at about $33.4 billion in the first quarter of
2018, up 19.4 percent over the first quarter of 2017; ATP imports grew by 17.5 percent.
Information and communication technologies (ICT) remained the greatest contributor to the deficit, with $36.1
billion in imports from China compared to $944 million exports from the United States.
Table 2: ATP Trade through March 2018
(US$ millions)
Source
: U.S. Census Bureau (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Foreign Trade Division, March 2018).
census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/atp/2017/12/ctryatp/atp5700.html
.
U.S. Services Trade with China
In 2017, the U.S. services surplus with China reached a record high of $38.5 billion, up from $38 billion in 2016
(Figure 2).5 Exports to China hit $56 billion, a 3.5 percent increase year-on-year (the lowest growth rate in over 13
years).6 Services imports reached $17.6 billion, an 8.7 percent increase from 2016.7
U.S. Top-Five Exports to ChinaU.S. Top-Five Imports from China
Exports
(US$ millions)
Share of
total (%)
Change
over
Q1'17 (%)
Imports
(US$ millions)
Share of
total (%)
Change
over
Q1'17 (%)
Quarter 1 (Jan-Mar'18)Quarter 1 (Jan-Mar'18)
Transportation Equipment6,053.8718.9%18.5%Computer and Electronic Products42,379.6234.4%15.5%
Computer and Electronic Products4,123.8912.9%6.1%Electrical Equipment, Appliances, and Component10,989.438.9%18.8%
Chemicals3,922.1012.2%5.5%Machinery, Except Electrical9,724.967.9%17.8%
Agricultural Products3,739.7811.7%-16.9%Miscellaneous Manufactured Commodities8,989.987.3%11.4%
Oil and Gas2,643.588.3%88.4%Apparel and Accessories6,343.375.2%1.1%
Other11,540.2236.0%Other44,685.0236.3%49.4%
Total32,023.44100.0%Total123,112.38100.0%
Quarter 1
ExportsImports
Balance March
2018ExportsImportsBalance 2018Balance 2017
TOTAL 1,89113,785-11,8946,19739,599-33,402-26,913
(01) Biotechnology 74195521958161211
(02) Life Science 397221176866645221188
(03) Opto-Electronics 60280-220129897-769-611
(04) Information & Communications 36712,605-12,23894436,066-35,122-29,681
(05) Electronics 564485791,5981,254344476
(06) Flexible Manufacturing 339125214792372421463
(07) Advanced Materials 2740-1367102-352
(08) Aerospace 501491,5581771,3811,884
(09) Weapons 08-8025-25-24
(10) Nuclear Technology 1311223221180
MonthlyCumulative year-to-date
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission4
Figure 2: U.S.-China Trade in Services, 2003–2017
Source:
U.S. Department of Commerce – Bureau of Economic Analysis,
U.S. Trade in Goods and Services by Selected Countries and
Areas, 1999-Present
, U.S. Department of Commerce, Foreign Trade Division, March 21, 2018.
Exports of tourism, which includes Chinese students coming to the United States to study, dominate U.S. services
trade with China: in 2017, they reached $32.2 billion, or 57 percent of all U.S. services exports to China (see Figure
3).* 8 For the third year in a row, however, exports of tourism are slackening; in 2017 they grew only 4.8 percent
year-on-year, down from 23.2 percent year-on-year in 2014.9 U.S. exports of financial services and intellectual
property (IP) charges saw fairly significant year-on-year increases in 2017, growing 17.5 percent and 7.2 percent,
respectively.10
In 2017, as in previous years, U.S. services imports from China were led by transport, which increased 5.3 percent
from $4.4 billion in 2016 to $4.6 billion in 2017; travel (including for education), which increased 3.7 percent from
$4.5 billion to $4.7 billion; and other business services, which increased 7.9 percent from $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion
(see Figure 4).11 Together, these three categories made up 81 percent of U.S. services imports from China.12 Imports
of insurance services leaped 726 percent from $50 million in 2016 to $413 million in 2017, going from a 0.3 percent
share of U.S. services imports from China in 2016 to 2.4 percent in 2017.13
* The U.S. government classifies tuition payments as tourism and travel exports. For more on Chinese tourism in the United States, see Matt
Snyder, “Chinese Tourism and Hospitality Investment in the United States,”
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission
, July
25, 2016.
uscc.gov/Research/chinese-tourism-and-hospitalityinvestment-united-states
.
-30
-20
-101030
40
50
60
200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017
US
$ b
illi
on
s
ExportsImportsBalance。。。。。。。。。