U.S.-China Trade Relations

As U.S.-China economic ties have grown, so have U.S. concerns about China’s economic, trade, investment, and technology practices. The role of the state in China’s economy and business ecosystem, China’s state control of information and communications systems (onshore and increasingly offshore), and blurred lines between China’s government authorities and business operations underpin many concerns. China is an important market for many U.S. firms, but its push overseas in the sectors it restricts domestically highlights asymmetries in levels of market opening, divergent approaches to trade rules, and core differences in the operating conditions and tenets of the economic and legal systems in the United States and China. Beijing’s unwillingness to acknowledge and address U.S. concerns over the past 15 years has caused tensions to escalate. Congressional concerns appear to be converging across economic, human rights, and national security issues. Long-standing concerns about market barriers, unfair trade practices, and a lack of reciprocity are evolving into broader considerations about how China’s behaviors may challenge U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. 

To read the full article by the Congressional Research Service, please click here.