Diplomat hails growth of China-US economic, trade ties
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As the world's biggest emerging economy, China is boosting its trade with and increasing investments in the United States, creating more jobs in the US market, said a Chinese diplomat in Chicago on Thursday.
Yang Guoqiang, consul general of the Chinese Consulate in Chicago, was delivering a speech at a reception marking the 61st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in downtown Chicago.
"China's development over the last 61 years is a progressive and fruit-yielding process. China's economy achieved rapid growth of 11.1 percent in the first half of this year. China's overall economic output has reached No 3 in the world and become the world largest exporter and second largest importer," he said.
"Undoubtedly, China is now the biggest emerging economy of important influence. China will continue to contribute to the sustained and robust recovery of the world economy," he stated.
The reciprocal and mutually-beneficial relations between China and the US provide tremendous opportunities for the United States' Midwest region and China, said the consul general.
"By the end of last year, 70 Chinese companies have come to the Midwest to set up operations with nearly $300 million of input. Around 30,000 students here are learning Chinese and 15 Confucius Institutes have been set up in this region to facilitate local people to learn the Chinese language and culture," he said.
"China's development has input strong impetus into China-US relations. Our two countries are now the second largest trading partner to each other and China has become the largest export market for the United States for the past 9 consecutive years," he added.
According to the diplomat, trade between China and the US for the first half of the year amounted to $201 billion, an increase of 23.2 percent over last year.
