2017年一改连续两年的疲软，中美经贸合作实现了较大幅度的增长，出现了可喜的现象。

2016年，美国经济疲软。中国经济增长放缓，出现了2010年以来的低谷。中美经贸统计无论是总额、出口、进口，甚至贸易平衡四个方面，双边统计都出现了负增长。中方统计当年贸易总额下跌了6.7%，美方统计贸易总额下跌了3.6%。另外，由于美元走强，美对华出口额连续两年下降。

上述情况在2017年得到了扭转。中方统计中美贸易额5837亿美元，增长12.3%，对美出口4298亿美元，增长11.5%，从美进口1539亿美元，增长14.5%，贸易顺差2758亿美元，增长9.9%。美方统计双边贸易额6501亿美元，增长9.9%，从中国进口5262亿美元，增长9.3%，对华出口1304亿美元，增长12.8%，逆差3958亿美元，增长8.2%。

2017年中美贸易总额占中国外贸总额的14.2%，相当于1/7。对美出口额占出口总额19%，若加上香港转口则为5262亿美元，占中国总出口额的23.3%，将近1/4。从2012年起，美国市场就超过欧盟市场，成为中国最大的出口市场。依据美方统计，美中贸易额占到美国外贸总额的16.43%，将近1/6，从中国的进口占到21.84%，超过了1/5。

与货物贸易相反，多年以来，中国在服务贸易领域存在较大逆差。中方统计2017年中美服务贸易总额1201亿美元，对美出口330亿美元，从美国进口871亿美元，中方逆差541亿美元。

从2015年起，中国超过加拿大成为美国最大的贸易伙伴。中美两国早已互为举足轻重的贸易伙伴，相互依存，互惠互利，合作共赢。

最近几年，中国企业对美非金融类投资迅速增长。按照中方统计（不含经第三地赴美投资，例如2013年9月双汇国际控股公司以71亿美元收购美国史密斯菲尔德食品公司，因双汇国际在香港注册而没有被统计在中国大陆对美投资内），2014年中国对美投资52.4亿美元，增长30.7%，2015年为83.9亿美元，增长60%，2016年为200.8亿美元，增长139.3%，2017年为78.1亿美元，下降62%（2017年下降主要是由于美国政府加大了对中国投资的安全审查和限制，另外中国为稳定外汇储备而倡导理性投资）。到2017年底，中国大陆对美投资累计为572.7亿美元。

据美国荣鼎咨询公司统计，中国赴美非金融类投资（含经港澳和免税区）2013年为140亿美元，2014年为119亿美元，2015年为158亿美元，2016年为456亿美元，2017年为290亿美元。到2017年底对美累计投资1364亿美元。据美中关系委员会会长欧伦斯说，到2016年底，中国对美投资为美国提供了14万个就业机会。

金融危机以来，中国越来越多的大中型企业显示了赴美投资的积极性。美国拥有健全和透明的法治环境、先进的技术水平、训练有素的员工、廉价的能源、低廉的物流成本、完善的基础设施和一流的研发能力。最重要的是有健全的销售渠道和庞大的消费市场，任何一种商品打开了美国市场就意味着打开了全世界的市场。从2018年起，特朗普政府大幅降低企业所得税，这将进一步吸引中国企业赴美投资。作为世界头号经济体，美国需要世界的资金来支撑经济复苏和重回繁荣。

美国对华非金融类实际投资继续增长。据中方统计，2014年为23.7亿美元，2015年为20.9亿美元，2016年为23.9亿美元，2017年为26.5亿美元，到2017年底美对华累计投资826.5亿美元。据荣鼎咨询公司的统计，到2016年底，美对华非金融类实际投资（含经港澳和台湾地区）达2280亿美元。中美两国在投资领域也已经互为重要的伙伴。

2008年，中美正式启动投资协定谈判。在2013年中美战略与经济对话中，双方确认以准入前国民待遇和负面清单为基础展开谈判。在2014年底完成了投资协定的文本谈判，2015年初开始负面清单谈判。中方为此做出了极大的努力，负面清单项目从2013年的190项减少到2017年7月的95项。与此同时，中方要求美方减少或停止非经济因素对企业投资的限制，诸如所谓的国家安全审查。据报道，仅2016和2017两年，受到国家安全审查而被限制的中资企业项目多达27起，严重干扰了中国赴美投资和双边合作。

双边投资协定（BIT）是中美经济关系的重要组成部分。达成一个高标准的双边投资协定将有助于两国建立更加紧密的联系，提高两国经贸合作的质量，迈出建设中美自由贸易区极为重要的一步，它符合两国的重大经济利益。

2017年11月8日到10日，特朗普总统访问中国。中美签署了2535亿美元的经贸大单，其规模相当于2016年台湾省GDP总量的一半。中方采购为1088亿美元，占整个经贸大单的42.9%，其中包括300亿美元采购370架波音飞机，262亿美元采购芯片、航空发动机和汽车零部件，110亿美元采购液化天热气，50亿美元采购大豆，此外还有牛肉等项目。

中国企业赴美投资项目1317亿美元，占经贸大单的52%。其中包含国家能源投资集团赴西弗吉尼亚州投资837亿美元，开发石油和天然气；中石化等赴阿拉斯加州投资430亿美元，开发天然气和石油。此外还有中企赴怀俄明州投资50亿美元开发能源。美国企业来华投资项目5个，金额130亿美元，占经贸大单的5%。

以上采购和双边投资项目若能落实，将促进中美经贸合作的更快发展，也有利于逐步减少美国对华贸易逆差。

特朗普政府让中国企业到美国地广人稀、经济相对落后的州去开发项目，充分说明美国想利用中国的资金、技术和人力资源协助特朗普实现振兴美国经济的愿望。

这也充分显示中国政府正在积极努力地缓解美国对华贸易逆差。

Sino-US economic cooperation improved in 2017, after a two-year slowdown.

The US economy was weak in 2016. Since 2010, China's economic growth has slowed and fallen into doldrums. Both Chinese and US statistics show that trade between the two countries declined. Chinese total trade for the year fell by 6.7%; US total trade declined by 3.6%. In addition, due to the stronger dollar, US trade with China decreased for two consecutive years.

This situation changed in 2017. According to Chinese statistics, China-US trade amounted to $583.7 billion, an increase of 12.3%; exports to the US reached $429.8 billion, an increase of 11.5%; imports from the US reached $153.9 billion, an increase of 14.5%; the trade surplus with the US reached $275.8 billion, an increase of 9.9%. According to US statistics, bilateral trade reached $650.1 billion, an increase of 9.9%; imports from China reached $526.2 billion, an increase of 9.3%; exports to China reached $130.4 billion, an increase 12.8%; the trade deficit with China reached $395.8 billion, an increase of 8.2%.

Sino-US trade in 2017 accounted for 14.2% of China's total trade. Exports to the US accounted for 19% of total Chinese exports and reached $526.2 billion if the re-export from Hong Kong is included, and the exports to the US accounted for 23.3% of total Chinese exports. Starting from 2012, the US was China's biggest export market, surpassing the EU. According to US statistics, US-China trade accounted for 16.43% of total US trade, with imports from China accounting for 21.84% of total imports.

In contrast to its trade in goods, China's service trade has experienced a big deficit for many years. Chinese statistics show China's service trade totaled $120.1 billion in 2017; exports to the US reached $33 billion while imports from the US reached $87.1 billion, leaving China in deficit at $54.1 billion.

Since 2015, China has become the US' biggest trade partner, exceeding Canada. China and the US have already become important trade partners to each other, enjoying mutual dependence, reciprocity, and win-win cooperation.

In recent years, Chinese enterprises' non-financial investments in the US grew fast. According to Chinese statistics, China's investment in the US in 2014 was $5.24 billion and grew by 30.7%, it reached $8.39 billion with an increase of 60% in 2015, $20.08 billion with a 139.3% increase in 2016, and $7.81 billion with a fall of 62% over the same period in 2017 ( due to the fact that the US government ramped up the security check and restrictions on Chinese investment; besides, China advocated rational investment to stabilize foreign exchange reserves). By the end of 2017, the investment from mainland China in the US reached $57.27 billion.

China's non-financial investment in the US (including the investment via Hong Kong, Macao and free trade zones) was $14 billion in 2013, $11.9 billion in 2014, $15.8 billion in 2015, $45.6 billion in 2016 and $29 billion in 2017. By the end of 2017, China's investment in the US reached $136.4. Steve Orlins, President of the National Committee on US-China Relations， said that China's investment in the US created 140,000 jobs.

Since the financial crisis, more and more Chinese large and medium-sized enterprises have shown their enthusiasm in investing in the US. The US has a sound and transparent legal environment, advanced technology, well-trained employees, inexpensive energy, low logistic costs, good infrastructure, and first-class R&D capability. Above all, the US has sound sale channels and a huge market. For any commodity, if the US market is open, it means the world market is open. Since 2018, the Trump administration has substantially cut the corporate income tax, which will further attract Chinese enterprises to invest in the US. As the world's top economy, the US needs the world's funds to support its economic recovery and return to prosperity.

The US' non-financial investment in China has continued to grow. Based on Chinese statistics, US investment in China was $2.37 billion in 2014, $2.09 billion in 2015, $2.39 billion in 2016, $2.65 billion in 2017, and reached $82.65 billion by the end of 2017. Rhodium Group statistics said that by the end of 2016, the US actual non-financial investment in China (including that via Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) reached $228 billion. China and the US have become each other's important partner in investment.

In 2008, China and the US officially started bilateral investment treaty negotiations. In the 2013 China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, both sides agreed to negotiate based on pre-establishment national treatment and negative lists. At the end of 2014, the negotiation on the investment treaty text was finished and the negotiation on the negative list started at the beginning of 2015. China made great efforts in this regard. The items on the negative list declined from 190 in 2013 to 95 in July 2017. At the same time, China demanded that the US reduce or stop the non-economic restrictions on the enterprises' investment, such as the so-called national security check. It was reported that only in the years 2016 and 2017, the Chinese investment projects subject to national security check and restrictions numbered as high as 27, seriously disrupting China's investment in the US and bilateral cooperation.

The Bilateral Investment Treaty is an important part of China-US economic relations. A high-level bilateral treaty will help establish closer ties between the two countries, improve economic cooperation, mark a crucial step forward in setting up a China-US free trade zone, and will be in line with the major economic interests of the two countries.

During President Trump's visit to China from November 8-10, 2017, China and the US signed a big trade deal worth $253.5 billion, about half of Taiwan's total GDP. In the deal, Chinese purchases will reach $108.8 billion, account for 42.9% of the deal. China will purchase 370 Boeing planes for $30 billion, chips, aircraft engines, and auto parts for $26.2 billion, liquefied natural gas for $11 billion, soybeans for $5 billion, and other items like beef.

Investment in the US from Chinese enterprises will reach $131.7 billion, accounting for 52% of the deal. The investment includes China National Energy Investment Group's 83.7 billion investment in West Virginia to explore oil and natural gas, Sinopec's $43 billion worth of investment in Alaska to explore oil and natural gas as well as Chinese enterprises' $5 billion investment in Wyoming to develop energy. The US has five investment items valued at $13 billion, accounting for 5% of the deal.

If all the above purchases and investments can be made, they will promote faster China-US economic cooperation and will be conducive to gradually narrowing the US trade deficit with China.

The Trump administration allows Chinese enterprises to develop projects in America's vast, sparsely-populated, and relatively backward states. It clearly indicates the US' wish to make use of China's funds, technology, and labor to help President Trump revitalize the US economy.

The big deal also shows that the Chinese government is positively exerting efforts to alleviate the US trade deficit with China.