Sino-North American Trade: Challenges and Opportunities

In the last fifteen years per capita income in China has more than doubled and trade has expanded enormously. In 1994, China's trade passed US$200 billion and China became the world's tenth largest exporter. Growth in foreign direct investment (FDI), has been equally impressive. In 1993, FDI into China was US$26 billion, the second largest FDI in the world after the United States. However, the rapid growth in trade and investment has occurred without China's full integration into the world economy. The single most important issue facing the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its members is the accession of China. China still protects many industries with tariffs and quotas. The United States and other countries consider China's intellectual property rules inadequate. The Chinese legal system is quite different from those of WTO members. Much remains to be done. In this monograph a number of Chinese and Canadian academics examine Sino-North American economic relations, its path, potential transition and the impediments to greater economic cooperation. The papers are invaluable for all those interested in trade with China, how it has grown, it's future and policy issues. The research was funded by the Applied Economic Research Institute Linkage (AERIL) program of CIDA and administered by the Conference Board of Canada.

vii, pp. 180, ISBN 0-7727-0819-3, 1996, $15.00