A query to the paper “Are the forces that cause China's trade surplus with the USA good?”: A response to Professor Jonathan E. Leightner

Purpose – This paper aims to conceptually argue that China's trade surplus with the USA is good by clarifying its fundamental forces from specific perspective. Design/methodology/approach – China's trade surplus with the USA is simply the result of comparative advantage under the background of international intra-product specialization. Being the consequence of global resources optimization allocation, China's trade imbalance, including trade surplus with the USA, is certainly a win-win game in international trade. Findings – There are strong reasons to believe that China's trade surplus with the USA is beneficial to both China and the USA. Originality/value – The forces causing China's trade surplus with the USA are complex and multiple different conclusions may be reached from different perspectives. This paper argues that one of the fundamental forces driving China's trade surplus with the USA is international intra-product specialization, and from this perspective, it can help us understand that China's trade surplus with the USA is good for both nations to some extent.China, International trade, Surpluses, United States of America