第二，这是中美产业比较优势互补的客观反映。从双边贸易结构看，中国顺差主要来源于劳动密集型产品和制成品，而在飞机、集成电路、汽车等资本与技术密集型产品和农产品领域都是逆差。2017年，中国对美农产品贸易逆差为164亿美元，占中国农产品贸易逆差总额的33%；飞机贸易逆差为127.5亿美元，占中国飞机贸易逆差总额的60%；汽车贸易逆差为117亿美元。因此，中美货物贸易不平衡是双方发挥各自产业竞争优势的情况下市场自主选择的结果。

Second, it is a fair reflection of the complementarity and comparative strengths of Chinese and US industries. In terms of trade mix, China’s trade surplus with the US mainly comes from labor-intensive products and manufactured goods, and its trade deficit with the US lies in capital- and technology-intensive products such as aircraft, integrated circuits, and automobiles, as well as agricultural products. In 2017, China ran a US$16.4 billion trade deficit with the US in agricultural products, accounting for 33% of China’s total trade deficit in the agricultural sector; a US$12.75 billion trade deficit with the US in aircraft, accounting for 60% of China’s total trade deficit in this sector; China also ran a US$11.7 billion deficit in automobile trade with the US. Therefore, the imbalance in trade in goods is a result of voluntary market choices where both countries have played to their industrial competitive strengths.

　　第三，这是国际分工和跨国公司生产布局变化的结果。随着全球价值链和国际分工深入发展，跨国公司利用中国生产成本低、配套生产能力强、基础设施条件好等优势，来华投资设厂组装制造产品，销往包括美国在内的全球市场。从贸易主体看，据中国海关统计，2017年中国对美货物贸易顺差的59%来自外商投资企业。随着中国承接国际产业转移和融入亚太生产网络，中国在很大程度上承接了过去日本、韩国等其他东亚经济体对美的贸易顺差。据美国商务部经济分析局统计，日本、韩国等东亚经济体占美国总逆差的比值，由1990年的53.3%下降为2017年的11%，同期中国对美贸易顺差的占比则由9.4%上升为46.3%（图5）。　

　　图表：图5：1990年、2017年美国对外贸易逆差的区域构成变化 新华社发

Third, it is a result of the international division of labor and the changing configuration of production locations by multinational companies. As the global value chain and international division of labor expand, multinational companies have come to establish factories in China to assemble and manufacture products and sell them to the US and the global market, thanks to China’s low production costs, strength in auxiliary production, and reliable infrastructure. When it comes to players in foreign trade, according to China Customs, 59% of China’s trade surplus with the US was contributed by foreign-invested enterprises in China in 2017. In the process of receiving international industrial relocation and joining the Asia-Pacific industrial network, China has, to a large extent, taken over the trade surpluses of Japan, the ROK and other East Asian economies with the US. According to US BEA, the shares of Japan, the ROK and other East Asian Economies in the total US trade deficit have declined from 53.3% in 1990 to 11% in 2017, while China’s trade surplus with the US has risen from 9.4% to 46.3% in the same period. (Chart 5)

Chart 5: How the Regional Components of US Foreign Trade Deficit Changed (1990-2017)

Source: UN COMTRADEdatabase, Bureau of Economic Analysis, USDOC.