China to be US' largest trading partner within ten years: Geithner

WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has claimed that China is expected to be the United States' largest trading partner ten years down the line, adding that America is benefiting because of the economic ties between the two nations.

"It's very important to understand that this is a relationship with very substantial economic benefits to the United States," Xinhua quoted Geithner, as saying.

He also said that in 2010, American exports to China exceeded the 100 billion dollars mark.

"They are 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," he added.

Currently, both the countries are each other's second largest trading partners.

The Secretary further assured that Washington would take up the issue of 'economic concerns' with Beijing during President Hu Jintao's visit to the US next week. During that visit, China is also expected to put forward their worries and expectations to make sure that they continue to have access to the US technologies and markets in the near future.