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But Foxconn wholesale buying components from Japan, Germany, Taiwan, still should reflect in Chinese trade balance as imports though. So it can be argued the old system is more transparent and easier to account than this contraption designed to make U.S. trade figures nicer.

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True. All that this is saying is that the bilaterial trade deficit numbers can be deceptive. Net imports - exports for a country do not change.

Almost all trade deficits are deceptive. in general imports are very carefully monitored - since they are taxed - while exports, especially invisible earnings, are very approximate.

Until recently the US measured exports purely in tonnage and then averaged their prices. So a ton of wheat = a ton of Windows DVDs

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