Some US senators have recently blamed China for the Sino-US trade deficit hitting a new high last year and have proposed placing a 27.5 per cent tariff on all Chinese products if China does not revalue the yuan.

　　They believe that if China had appreciated its currency， the US deficit problem would have been solved. But it is unfair to blame China when one considers the following facts.

　　Does China export too many products to the United States？ No. According to US statistics， since 1994 Canada has been the biggest exporter to the United States. In 2004 Canada's exports to the United States amounted to US$ 256 billion， 30 per cent greater than China's. The second and the third largest exporters to the US market were Japan and Mexico before 2003. China became the second largest after 2003.

　　The reason why the trade gap between the United States and China is so big is that US exports to China are far less than those sent to Canada， Mexico and Japan.

　　The Chinese Government has not manipulated its currency exchange rate to limit imports from any country， including the United States. According to Chinese customs statistics， China had a trade surplus of about US$32 billion in 2004. Considering US trade statistics， it could be implied that China had a huge trade deficit of US$130 billion with the rest of the world. In 2004 China's imports from Asia accounted for about 66 per cent of its total imports， while imports from the United States were only 8 per cent of the total. China had huge trade deficits with South Korea， Japan， and ASEAN nations. Plus the mainland's trade dificits with its island province of Taiwan， the total reached about US$127 billion.

　　Since China opened to the outside world in 1978 and has been shifting from a planned economy to a market economy， more and more foreign direct investment （FDI） has come into China. The import and export conditions in China have changed a lot. Foreign-funded companies in China have driven the main part of the Chinese import and export markets. In 2004， import and export values of foreign-funded companies accounted for about 60 per cent of the country's total trade volume.

　　FDI in China mainly came from Asian markets， such as those in Japan， South Korea， Singapore as well as from Taiwan， which realized FDI of US$16.8 billion in 2004， nearly 50 per cent of the country's total （except FDI from Hong Kong and the Virgin Islands）。

　　Those overseas-funded companies aimed their money at not only the rapidly growing Chinese market with its 1.3 billion consumers but also at the country's lower labour costs.

　　In 2003， US high-tech exports to China were 10 per cent of the Chinese total high-tech imports， ranking as just the fifth largest source of China's imports of such goods.

　　The conclusion is clear： The reason for the US trade deficit with China is not about China's currency exchange rate. The key problem is some American policies which cause US manufacturers to lose their comparative advantages to other exporters.

　　If the United States truly wishes to compete on a fair and open playing field， it should review its policies， including its erroneous trade policies regarding China， rather than simply making China a scapegoat. To place tariffs on all Chinese products will only hurt the interest of both countries.

　　有些美國參議員最近指責中國說，去年中美貿(mào)易赤字創(chuàng)新高，如果中國不調(diào)整人民幣幣值的話，建議對所有中國的產(chǎn)品加收27.5%的關(guān)稅。

　　他們認為，若人民幣升值，美國的赤字問題就會得到解決。然而，如果考慮到下列事實情況，對中國的指責是不公平的。

　　中國出口到美國的產(chǎn)品太多了嗎？不。據(jù)美國的統(tǒng)計資料，1994年以來，加拿大是美國的最大出口商。2004年，加拿大出口美國的金額達2560億美元，超出中國出口美國的金額30%.2003年之前，美國市場的第二和第三大出口商是日本和墨西哥。2003年以后，中國才成為美國市場的第二大出口商。

　　造成中美貿(mào)易差距那么大的原因是美國對中國的出口遠遠小于美國對加拿大、墨西哥和日本。

　　中國政府沒有調(diào)整貨幣匯率，以限制從任何國家（包括從美國）的進口。據(jù)中國海關(guān)的統(tǒng)計資料，2004年中國的貿(mào)易盈余達到320億美元左右。再看美國的貿(mào)易統(tǒng)計資料，資料顯示中國對美國的貿(mào)易赤字與中國對世界其他國家的貿(mào)易赤字達1300億美元之巨。2004年中國從亞洲的進口約占進口總額的66%，而從美國的進口只占進口總額的8%.中國與南朝鮮、日本及東盟各國的貿(mào)易赤字很高，加之大陸與臺灣省的貿(mào)易赤字，總額達1270億美元左右。

　　自從1978年中國對外開放以來，從計劃經(jīng)濟向市場經(jīng)濟轉(zhuǎn)變，越來越多的外國直接投資（FDI）進入中國，中國的進出口情況有了很大的改變。中國的外資企業(yè)占據(jù)了中國進出口市場的主要部分。2004年，外資企業(yè)的進出口值約占中國貿(mào)易總額的60%.

　　中國的外國直接投資（FDI）主要來自亞洲市場，如日本、南朝鮮、新加坡及臺灣等國的市場，2004年實現(xiàn)外國直接投資（FDI）168億美元，占全國總額近50%（來自香港和維爾京群島的外國直接投資除外）。

　　這些海外獨資公司不僅把資金投向擁有13億消費者的迅猛發(fā)展的中國市場，而且投向中國低廉的勞動力成本。

　　2003年，美國對中國的高技術(shù)出口占中國高技術(shù)進口總額的10%，排在中國進口此類貨物資源的第五位。

　　結(jié)論很清楚：美國與中國產(chǎn)生貿(mào)易赤字的原因并不是與中國貨幣匯率有關(guān)的問題。關(guān)鍵的問題是一些美國的政策使得美國的制造商失去了他們對其他出口商的比較優(yōu)勢。

　　若美國真的希望在一個公開、開放的競技場上展開競爭，應該重新審視其政策，包括涉及中國的錯誤貿(mào)易政策，而不能簡單的把中國當作替罪羊。對所有中國產(chǎn)品加收關(guān)稅只會傷害兩國人民的利益。