美中贸易赤字创新高

The U.S. trade deficit with China reached a record high in August.

The gap between what China buys from U.S. companies and what the Chinese sell in the American market was $29 billion in August.

Thursday's report from the Commerce Department says the overall U.S. trade deficit with the world (($45.6 billion)) was nearly unchanged during the month.

The trade gap with China comes at a politically sensitive time when the U.S. Senate has just passed a bill to impose tariffs on certain Chinese-made goods unless Beijing stops its alleged manipulation of its currency. The tariff bill would have to overcome opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and be approved by the president before it could become law.

A weak Chinese currency gives Chinese goods a price advantage in the U.S. market, and raises the cost of American-made products to Chinese consumers.

A separate report from the Labor Department says the number of Americans signing up for unemployment compensation declined by 1,000 to a total of 404,000 last week. The U.S. unemployment rate, which is calculated from a separate study, is a relatively high 9.1 percent.美国对华贸易赤字8月创新高。中国从美国的进口与中国对美国的出口之间的差额为290亿美元。

美国商务部星期四的报告说，美国的全球贸易逆差8月份基本没有改变。

美中贸易逆差加大正值政治敏感时期。美国参议院刚刚通过一个汇率法案，要求北京取消对人民币汇率的操纵，否则就对某些中国进口商品征收惩罚性关税。不过，这项法案要生效之前还需要得到众议院的通过和总统的批准。

人民币币值被人为压低使中国商品在美国市场上享有价格优势，并增加了中国消费者购买美国商品的开支。

美国劳工部在另一份报告中说，上星期美国申请失业补贴的人数为40万4,000，下降了一千人。根据另一项研究，美国的失业率仍维持在9.1%。