The US represents 18% of China’s exports. So the US is an important market for China. But, the reality is that about 85% of China’s exports to the US are by US companies making parts or their products in China for export to the US.

While exports have been and continue to be an important part of China’s economic rise, domestic activities like infrastructure were equally important. Infrastructure made China’s logistics for both domestic and international markets more efficient and provided the necessary structure for rapid movement of parts and materials.

Cheap labor was the magnet that drew foreign companies to manufacture in China. As the supply chains developed within China and outside, China became the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Bottom line, it was trade and manufacturing to the whole world, of which the US is a part, that created the super-economy that is China today.