China remained the United States' third-biggest export destination, behind Canada and Mexico, in 2012, having purchased nearly $109 billion worth of US goods, according to a report by the US-China Business Council.
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Each of 30 US states exported more than $1 billion in goods to China while 10 others shipped more than $500 million. Leading industries were agriculture, transportation and electronics, the Washington-based organization said in an annual survey released on Thursday.
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Although GDP growth in the world's second-largest economy slowed last year, China still saw the value of imports from the US increase by 6.5 percent, or $6.6 billion, the council said.
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That helped boost the US economy and contribute to job creation, said John Frisbie, president of the council, which represents more than 200 US companies that do business in China.
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"US exports to China remain a bright spot for many US companies, particularly with European demand weakening," Frisbie said.
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Timothy Speiss, an executive with New York consulting firm Eisner Amper LLP, said trade between the US and China is likely to increase this year.
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"US companies looking for investors and US homeowners looking for buyers benefit from Chinese money coming to the US," he said.
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China's first-quarter GDP growth of 7.7 percent was slightly above the government's 7.5 percent target but below the 8 percent prediction of several leading economists, including Justin Lin, a former World Bank chief economist.
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But a rapidly expanding middle class has become a major driver of China's buying power. A recent report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said that trend outpaced overall investment in China in 2011.
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The Chinese middle class accounts for nearly one quarter — $6.2 trillion — of the $26 trillion in additional global consumption projected for the 15 years leading up to 2025, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
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"As its economy and middle class expand, China will continue to play a significant role as an export market for a wide selection of US goods," Frisbie said. "Some estimates forecast that China may have nearly 600 million middle-class consumers by the end of the decade."