CHINA STUDIES PROGRAM

UNO CBA China Studies Program’s faculty affiliates conduct internationally recognized research on the Chinese economy. The China Studies program aims to promote research and scholarly activities on various aspects of the Chinese economy, and to heighten local area awareness of China’s current role in the global economy.


China and the United States
In 2010, China’s share of the world’s gross domestic product (at market exchange rates) was 9.4% while the United States accounted for 23.1% of the world’s gross domestic product. China has become the third largest market for US exports, and the top source of US imports.

In 2005, majority-owned Chinese affiliates of US firms employed close to 590,000 individuals in China with total sales of about $70.5 billion, two-thirds of which are China (local) sales. Majority-owned US affiliates of Chinese firms employed 1,700 individuals in the United States with total sales worth US$2billion.

In 2008, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted 1,225 utility patents to Chinese inventors up from 119 utility patent grants in 2000.

With almost a fifth of the world’s population, with an economy that’s growing at close to 10% annually, China’s importance in global commerce will only increase.


Nebraska’s engagement with China
Exports originating in Nebraska amounted to US$5.8 billion in 2010, see Table 1 below. China is the state’s fourth largest export market with a 4.8% share, below China’s 7.2% share in total US exports.





More than half of the US$278.9 million manufactured exports to China that originate in Nebraska are processed foods, followed by machinery manufactures (see Table 2 below). Compared to our state’s total exports to the world, exports to China is much concentrated in processed foods.





Additional Information
• Read about Governor Dave Heineman’s trade mission to China. China is the first stop of the 2007 trade mission which also includes visits to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan.

• Read about Nebraska’s First Reverse Trade Mission in 2008. Government and business leaders from ten countries participated in this event. Members of the China delegation signed several Memorandums of Understanding with the state whereby “Nebraska would receive top consideration from five Shanghai, China companies looking to expand into the U.S.”

• To promote stronger economic ties, a number of sister-city and state-province ties have been established by Midwestern states and cities. In 2004, Nebraska and Guizhou became sister state-province. Talks are currently under way for Omaha and Yantai in Shandong province to become sister cities.

Notes: 1/ 2009 value. 2/ 2008 value. 3/ Converted at 6.8307 yuan per US dollar.
Sources: US Bureau of Economic Analysis; Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012;
China Statistical Yearbook: 2010.


Nebraska’s Fortune 500 Companies and China


Source: Fortune, 2011.


• Berkshire Hathaway has a 10% stake in BYD Company, a Chinese battery manufacturer. BYD currently sells hybrid cars in China and plans to sell electric cars in the United States by 2010. [Source: Fortune, April 13, 2009.]

• Union Pacific’s international intermodal traffic dropped by 11% in 2008 partly because of “softening of imports from China.” 58% of the company’s intermodal revenues are from international traffic. [Source: Union Pacific 2008 Annual Report.]

• ConAgra’s Food and Ingredients Reporting Segment has international general and merchandising offices in China, Japan, and Singapore. Its International Foods Reporting Segment has a number of offices worldwide, one in Shanghai, China. The International Foods Reporting Segment accounts for 10% of ConAgra’s net sales in 2008. [Source: ConAgra Foods Inc. 2008 Annual Report.]


Other Area Companies and China
• First Data International and China UnionPay Co., Ltd. (CUP) launched a joint service that provides Chinese visitors access to their cash using First Data’s ATM network in Australia. Both companies plan to expand acceptance of CUP cards in other markets outside China. [Source: Yahoo!Finance, March 12, 2007.]

• InfoUSA has announced plans of expansion into the Chinese market. The company has had conversations with partners to compile telephone-verified business databases in China. [B to B, April 7, 2008]

• Werner Enterprises, Inc. received its license to operate in China in 2006, and is one of the first to operate as a wholly-owned logistics and freight forwarding company in China. [Source: Werner.]

• Valmont Industries, Inc. opened its third manufacturing plant in China in August 2008. Its three plants in China are in Guangzhou, Haiyang, and Shanghai; all three are in its Engineered Support Structures Division (Steel Poles). [Source: Valmont 2008 Annual Report]

• CUH2A, a division of HDR, is designing WuXi PharmaTech’s new toxicology facility in Shanghai. WuXi is China’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D outsourcing company. [Source: HDR, Inc.]