China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Monday that it will take joint efforts between the US and China to resolve the trade imbalance.

Photo: CGTN

China does not deliberately pursue a trade surplus and the current trade imbalance is a result of normal market operation, which is guided by bilateral economic structure, industry competitiveness and international division of labor, MOFCOM said in a report that summarizes China's foreign trade situation in 2017 and the first quarter of this year.

"The China-US trade imbalance should be seen historically from a comprehensive viewpoint," said the ministry, noting the two countries have gained broad economic benefits through their trade cooperation.

The bilateral trade volume surged from $2.5 billion in 1979 to $583.7 billion in 2017, an increase of 231 times. Since 2008, China's exports to the US have stayed above 16 percent of its total exports, data from the ministry showed.

Despite the huge exports, Chinese firms do not reap the biggest profits since they are in the middle or low-end of industrial chains, while US firms are at the higher-end due to product design, core component manufacturing and marketing, making them the biggest winners. The two world's largest markets need each other, the report said.