Briefings and matchmaking business appointments will be made for members of the business delegation. Individual country briefings will include local public and private sector officials to discuss developments in the country that affect the commercial environment. The mission will depart Washington on March 10. Commercial Setting for the Missions China is considered to offer the lion's share of future growth in sales of goods and services for many American companies. China has become our fourth largest trading partner and supplier of imports.
China is our fifteenth largest destination for U.S. exports.
Since the mid-1980s when U.S. trade with China began to grow substantially, U.S. imports from China have continually outpaced U.S. exports to China. This has resulted in a large and growing trade deficit, now our second largest deficit after Japan. Beijing is the capital and the locus of much of the decision making on infrastructure development, as well as on trade policy. Besides Beijing, two other stops with significant infrastructure opportunities will be selected. The HK SAR is a separate customs territory, maintains its own freely convertible currency, enjoys independent status in the WTO and other multilateral and bilateral fora, and continues with one of the most open and free market based economies in the world today.