Trade with China supports some 2.6 million jobs in the United States, including jobs that Chinese firm have created directly in the US, according to a report released on Tuesday by the US-China Business Council.

And as the Chinese middle class grows rapidly over the next decade, likely exceeding the entire US population by 2026, US companies will have opportunities to tap into a new and lucrative customer base that can further boost employment and economic growth, said the report, entitled Understanding the US-China Trade Relationship.

The report shows that nations trading closely with China outperform those with less integrated trade ties, and the trend will continue.

The USCBC, founded in 1973, is a private, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization of more than 200 US companies doing business with China.

John Frisbie, president of USCBC, said: "Much was said about the negative effect of trade with China, with estimated job losses receiving considerable attention. But the positive effects of the commercial relationship with China were largely ignored, and therefore there really hasn't an assessment of the overall context provided."

According to the report, China purchased $165 billion in goods and services from the US in 2015, representing 7.3 percent of all US exports.

Although some US manufacturing jobs have been lost because of the trade deficit, US firms sell high-value products to China, which support jobs.

By 2030, US exports to China are expected to rise to more than $520 billion.

Michael Zielenziger, managing editor of Oxford Economics, said China contributed more to global growth over the past 15 years than the eurozone and the US combined. And China accounted for one-third of global GDP growth in 2015.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com