WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Inflation in China will give U.S. businesses a better advantage in trade with the country, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Friday.
The combined effect of China increasing the value of the renminbi relative to the dollar, and China's greater rate of inflation, will boost the dollar more than 10 percent a year, he said at a White House media briefing.
While U.S. imports from China are likely to be greater than its exports for some time because of the much larger size of the U.S. economy and the relative wealth of its citizens, the United States benefits from the relationship, Geithner said.
"Last year our exports to China passed the $100 billion mark," he said. "They're growing at about twice the pace of our exports to the rest of the world. What that means is our exports to China will double in the next four to five years, and that means China is likely to become our largest trading partner sometime roughly 10 years from today."
