The United States and China share a significant trade relationship that has expanded significantly over the past three decades. This can be understood from the fact that total trade between the United States and China grew exponentially from $2 billion in 1979 to a staggering $562 billion by the end of 2013. China is currently the United States' second largest partner in terms of trade, its third largest export market and its largest source of imports. With a total valuation of around $300 billion, China is one of the largest markets for US companies (this fact is based on US exports to China and sales by US companies that have significant investments in China ). For many companies, in fact, it is important to participate in the Chinese market to remain relevant and competitive in the current economic scenario. For example, automaker General Motors (GM) has invested heavily in China, selling more cars in China than in the United States from 2010-2013. On the other hand, consumers in the United States benefit greatly from importing low-cost goods from the Chinese manufacturer. China is currently considered the largest foreign holder of US Treasury securities (approximately $1.4 trillion as of December 2013). Another important aspect is that China's purchases of US government debt have helped the US keep prevailing interest rates low. The irony of this trade bond between two countries is that despite such an important and enormous bilateral trade and economic relationship, this bond has been becoming complex and overshadowed by tensions for several reasons. From the US perspective, many trade-related problems are due to the extremely closed nature of the Chinese market. Although China has, over time, liberalized and opened its economy... middle of paper......direct impact on the US economy as well. US-China Economic PolicyUS-China economic policy is highly dependent on the amount of imports and exports made between the two countries. It is important to understand that the amount of imports and exports between countries is an important deciding factor in terms of future trade policies and overall strategies. In 2013, merchandise exports from the United States to China totaled approximately $120 billion, making China the third-largest U.S. export market after Canada and Mexico. Over the span of 13 years (2000-2013), the share of total exports from the United States to China increased from 2.1% to 7.7%, a significant increase. Items such as oilseeds, grains, motor vehicles, aircraft, and spare parts were just some of the most exported items from the United States to China. China also occupied the position of the second largest US agricultural export market in 2013, estimated at around $28 billion.