The Times of India

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2003

China becomes top trader with California in 2002: Report

AP

LOS ANGELES China was California's top trading partner last year, as the
value of goods flowing through the state's air and seaports eclipsed that of
goods traded with Japan for the first time, a trade group said.

The state had about $1.6 billion more in trade with China than Japan,
reflecting China's growing stature as a manufacturing giant and its economic
ties with California, particularly Southern California, said George Huang,
an economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

More than $54 billion in goods were imported from China through California
last year, compared with more than $41 billion in imports from Japan, Huang
said Monday. Nearly $20 billion in exports flowed through the state to Japan
in 2002, compared with only about $9 billion going to China.

Los Angeles-area ports benefited most from the surge, as trade value with
China grew 22.5 percent to $55 billion, compared with an 8.1 percent drop in
trade with Japan for $41.9 billion.

But it wasn't a good trade year overall for California, as the lingering
effects of the weak technology sector helped push the state's trade value
down 3.2 percent to $330.4 billion, the report said.


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