November 16, 2005 – Both the United States and China will join 19 other Pacific Rim economies for a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC) this week in South Korea, where they will talk about issues such as free trade, corruption and public health.
The meeting should serve as a wake-up call for the U.S. as many analysts are now saying China has virtually passed the U.S. as the dominant economic and political force within APEC.
With lawmakers yet to take a tough stance on China’s unfair trade practices, the U.S. trade deficit with China jumped 8.9 percent in September to a record 20.1 billion. The overall deficit with China for the year is on pace to hit $200 billion, shattering last years record $162 billion deficit.
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