Alaska and China: Ties between the Middle Kingdom and Great Land.

• Author: Wolf, Greg
• Position: INTERNATIONAL TRADE SPECIAL SECTION / CHINA

China is the world's largest importer of natural resource commodities, and Alaska is a major American producer and exporter of many of those commodities, so the growing commercial ties between the Middle Kingdom and the Great Land make for a natural, mutually beneficial trading partnership. And, indeed, the dramatic growth of China as an economic powerhouse has fueled continued expansion of Alaska's international trade economy and has been the headline story for the state's export community for the past two decades.

The rise of China as a global economic force to be reckoned with began with the economic reforms commenced in the late 1970s. From then, until as recently as 2015, the country averaged 10 percent annual GDP growth rates. China's economy is now ranked the second largest in the world, behind the United States and ahead of Japan. In recent years, as the economy has grown and matured, growth rates have slowed but are still strong. Currently, the country's GDP growth rate sits at about 6.5 percent, according to the World Bank.

China is Alaska's largest trading partner, with annual exports now valued at more than $1 billion. In 2017, the most recent period for which we have full-year figures, exports from Alaska to the country totaled $1.3 billion. The record year, so far, was 2011, when Alaska exports to China totaled nearly $1.5 billion. That was also the year that China became the state's number one export market, surpassing Japan, which had held that status since Alaska became a state in 1959. The fastest growth period for Alaska's export shipments to China was between 2000 and 2011 when export values rose from a modest $100 million to reach almost $1.5 billion in just ten years. We've dubbed this period as the "Dragon Decade."

Seafood is the predominate export commodity from Alaska to China, accounting for 57 percent of the total. Minerals and ores is the second largest category at 27 percent. The two other notable export categories are energy at 7 percent and forest products at 6 percent.

Overseas Investments

In addition to being the state's largest trading partner, China also has Alaska on its radar for investment, either directly or indirectly. Two examples are found in the state's mining sector: in 2009, China Investment Corporation (CIC), one of China's sovereign wealth funds, purchased a 17.5 percent stake in Teck Resources, the Canadian mining company that operates the Red Dog Mine. Red Dog is one of the world's largest...