Trade report outlines U.S.-China tech trade

Trade report outlines U.S.-China tech trade    A trade association study released Wednesday by AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) shows that high-tech exports from the United States to China nearly tripled, from $3 billion to $8.7 billion, between 1998 and 2004.
   The results are a sign of the increasingly interdependent nature of the U.S.-China economic relationship, AeA said in a statement.
   Over the same time period U.S. high-tech imports from China more than quadrupled, from $16.2 billion to $68.2 billion.
   The relationship is particularly evident in the production and sale of high-technology goods: China was the sixth-largest destination for U.S. high-tech exports in 2004, and when combined with Hong Kong, it was the third-largest destination.
   Direct investment is also on the rise between the two countries, the report said. In 2004, U.S. direct investment in China totaled $15.4 billion, a 34 percent rise over 2003. Technology investments represented $1.8 billion, a 38 percent rise over 2003. Meanwhile, Chinese direct investment in the United States is growing rapidly. In 2004, China invested $490 million, a 59 percent rise over 2003.
   'We are not going to stop the economic growth of China — nor should we want to,' said Rob Mulligan, AeA's senior vice president international, in a statement. 'The United States stands to gain tremendously as both investment opportunities and exports to a rapidly growing Chinese consumer market increase. But we recognize that with these opportunities come challenges related to very legitimate U.S. concerns. These include an expanding trade deficit, currency controls, intellectual property infringement, inadequate WTO compliance, and a host of others. The Chinese government also needs to recognize the legitimacy of these concerns.'