July 27, 2017 - China Expands International Trade Partnerships

On July 27, 2017, China expanded international trade partnerships by opening key markets to U.S. businesses through the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue's 100-Day Action Plan. You can trace breakthroughs like American Express gaining entry into China's $20 trillion payment market, U.S. poultry exports jumping toward $1.2 billion, and the first U.S. LNG cargo arriving in October 2017. These moves reshaped a $635.9 billion bilateral trade relationship — and there's much more to unpack about what changed next.

Key Takeaways

• China's export-driven model actively reshaped global trade patterns, reducing reliance on any single partner and expanding reach across multiple regions.
• China diversified exports toward ASEAN and other partners, strategically reducing dependence on U.S. demand amid bilateral trade tensions.
• Two-way U.S.-China merchandise trade reached $635.9 billion in 2017, reflecting China's deep integration into global commerce.
• China accounted for 16.4% of total U.S. trade in 2017, underscoring its dominant role in international trade networks.
• Supply chains shifted across Southeast Asia, Europe, and Mexico, partly driven by China's strategic trade diversification efforts.

How U.S.-China Trade Relations Shifted After the CED Launch

The Comprehensive Economic Dialogue (CED) launched with genuine momentum—China accepted U.S. beef imports, opened its market to American liquefied natural gas applications, and allowed foreign-owned firms to provide credit-rating services, while the U.S. permitted cooked poultry imports from China.

Yet once the 100-day plan deadline passed, you saw no joint public statement, no announcement of ongoing efforts, and officials on both sides went quiet. Unlike similar formal dialogues dating back to 2006, this one lacked continuity. That policy divergence hardened quickly—by 2018, Trump's trade war had begun. China responded through export diversification, redirecting trade flows toward ASEAN markets and other partners, reducing its dependence on U.S. demand while broader bilateral coordination collapsed entirely. Similarly, Canada's Economic Statement Implementation Act bundled sweeping financial and administrative provisions into a single statute, reflecting how governments worldwide were adjusting domestic policy frameworks amid volatile international trade conditions.

The U.S.-China trade deficit had exceeded $377 billion by the time the trade war officially commenced in 2018, providing the primary stated justification for the sweeping tariffs that would soon follow. Decades later, efforts to stabilize the relationship through structured dialogue would continue to fall short, as seen when China missed purchase commitments under the October 2025 trade framework, echoing the unfulfilled pledges of the earlier Phase One agreement.

The $635.9 Billion U.S.-China Trade Relationship Explained

By 2017, U.S.-China two-way merchandise trade had reached $635.9 billion—a 10.0 percent jump from $578.2 billion the previous year—making China the largest single-country U.S. trading partner, ahead of Canada's $582.4 billion.

This figure represented 16.4 percent of total U.S. trade, underscoring how deeply the two economies had become intertwined.

Understanding the trade composition helps you see why tariff impacts cut so sharply. China shipped high-tech products like cell phones and computers to the U.S., while the U.S. exported soybeans, civilian aircraft, and pharmaceuticals to China. The U.S. merchandise trade deficit with China reached $375.2 billion, making it the largest deficit with any single trading partner.

When Section 301 tariffs targeted $370 billion in Chinese imports, they disrupted this established flow, ultimately pushing trade toward alternative partners and reshaping supply chains across Southeast Asia, Europe, and Mexico. During this same period, the U.S. dollar depreciated 6.3 percent on the broad dollar index, adding further complexity to the cost calculations importers and exporters faced on both sides of the Pacific. Canada, which ranked as the second-largest U.S. trading partner, later responded to growing foreign investment pressures by enacting Investment Canada Act amendments to strengthen national security oversight of inbound transactions.

How the 100-Day Action Plan Opened New U.S. Markets in China

When Presidents Trump and Xi met in April 2017, they hammered out a 100-day action plan that cracked open several Chinese markets previously closed to U.S. exporters.

Through agricultural concessions, China committed to accepting American beef and chicken, resolving barriers that had blocked these exports for years.

Financial liberalization gave U.S. companies improved access to Chinese markets, with electronic payment providers securing formal entry commitments.

Energy exporters gained favorable treatment for LNG shipments, putting China on equal footing with other U.S. trading partners.

These initial wins fed directly into the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue, which replaced the previous administration's framework and scheduled its first formal meeting for summer 2017.

Critics noted the plan left major structural issues unresolved, including steel and aluminum overcapacity and unequal treatment of U.S. companies operating in China.

You can trace this progress as the foundation for a longer one-year plan that followed. The dialogue was led by co-chairs Steven Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross on the U.S. side, alongside Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang.

Markets China Unlocked: Payment Services, Poultry, and LNG

Three markets tell the story of what the 100-Day Action Plan actually delivered: payment services, poultry, and LNG. Each one moved fast.

Payment liberalization gave U.S. firms like American Express real entry points into a $20 trillion transaction market. You'd see foreign ownership caps rise to 50%, cracking open supply chains that Alipay and WeChat Pay had long controlled. Baidu's mobile payment ecosystem, which operates alongside these platforms, reaches 724 million monthly active users through the Baidu App alone, illustrating the scale of China's digital transaction infrastructure.

Poultry exports jumped from near-zero to $1.2 billion by 2018, with approved U.S. states expanding from 5 to 23. Dark meat cuts drove that LNG growth mirrored the momentum—China received its first U.S. cargo in October 2017, climbing to 3.5 million tons in 2018 and locking in long-term contracts exceeding 10 million annual tons. China's deep integration into global commerce stretches back centuries, as its role in establishing the Silk Road land route connected Central Asia, Korea, and beyond during the Han dynasty.

Underpinning all of this trade expansion is a vast and resource-rich economy, with China holding extensive reserves of coal, iron ore, crude oil, and minerals that make it a formidable partner in any long-term energy and industrial supply agreement.

Electronics, Machinery, and Furniture: Where the U.S.-China Trade Gap Widened

While payment services, poultry, and LNG showed where the U.S.-China relationship opened up, electronics, machinery, and furniture tell the opposite story—where the trade gap kept widening.

In 2017, you saw electronics displacement accelerate as computer imports from China climbed $6.4 billion to $73 billion, driving a $24.6 billion deficit increase.

That sector alone accounted for 36.2% of all U.S. job losses between 2001 and 2018—over 1.3 million positions gone.

Machinery clustering deepened the problem. Chinese manufacturers expanded air-conditioning, motors, and valve exports, pushing machinery imports up $4.6 billion to $53 billion.

Furniture followed suit, rising $2.3 billion to $21.6 billion, hollowing out districts in Georgia and North Carolina. The broader manufacturing toll was severe, with three-fourths of jobs lost between 2001 and 2018 concentrated in manufacturing, amounting to 2.8 million positions erased across the economy.

Together, these sectors drove the overall U.S.-China deficit to $375.2 billion. China's WTO entry in 2001 had accelerated this trajectory, with the U.S. bilateral goods deficit growing steadily until it reached its 2017 peak of $375.6 billion. Much like how visual card signals transcended football and were adopted across multiple sports as a universal communication standard, China's export-driven model transcended individual sectors to reshape global trade patterns broadly.

What the $250 Billion November Summit Meant for U.S.-China Trade

The October 2019 Phase 1 announcement froze tariff increases on Lists 1, 2, and 3—covering $250 billion in Chinese imports—while keeping existing 25% rates intact. This tariff suspension marked a critical step toward trade stabilization, giving both sides room to negotiate without escalating costs.

You'd see China committing to purchase $40–$50 billion in American agricultural goods, alongside terms addressing intellectual property rights and financial services. The deal excluded List 4A tariffs scheduled for October and December 2019, meaning pressure remained.

Trump anticipated signing the agreement with Xi Jinping at the November APEC summit, targeting a mid-November finalization. Outcomes still required verifiable, enforceable commitments, with snapback provisions ensuring tariffs would return if China failed to meet benchmarks. Deal drafting was estimated to take three to five weeks before the agreement could be considered effective upon written signature.

Analysts noted that U.S. exports to China support approximately 1.8 million jobs across services, agriculture, and capital goods, underscoring the broad domestic stakes tied to any durable resolution of bilateral trade tensions. Separately, Canada's ongoing legislative developments, including proposed amendments to Atlantic offshore energy governance frameworks, reflect how nations are simultaneously reshaping domestic regulatory structures that intersect with broader international economic relationships.