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Some 85 percent of all congressional districts across the United States increased their exports to China in 2008, according to the third annual survey of districts' exports by the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) released on Thursday.
"Despite the global economic downturn in the second half of last year, 85 percent of congressional districts increased their exports to China in 2008," John Frisbie, USCBC president, said in a statement.
The analysis, undertaken by the Trade Partnership, quantifies exports to China from 2000 -- the year before China joined the World Trade Organization -- through 2008 from every congressional district in the 111th Congress.
According to the report, in almost every district, exports to China for the 2000-08 period grew much faster than exports to the rest of the world.
Even in districts that have had a mixed export story in past years, in states such as Hawaii, Vermont and Tennessee, exports to China have grown faster than those to the rest of the world.
In 2008, growth rebounded in some congressional districts that experienced export declines in 2007.
Of the 435 congressional districts, 409 experienced triple-digit growth in manufactured exports between 2000 and 2008.
"Exports mean jobs," Frisbie said. "U.S. manufacturing and agricultural exports to China have jumped more than 340 percent so far this decade, far outpacing the 60-percent growth in our exports to the rest of the world during this time."
The rapid increase in exports to China is reflected in local economies across the United States, "as this report shows, and I expect this trend will continue when economies rebound," said Frisbie.
"In the meantime, we need to work with China and other countries to restore trade growth as quickly as possible and support jobs for American workers," he added.
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