China, U.S. unveil report on trade data discrepancy

 　　BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The commerce authorities of China and the United States on Friday unveiled a report on a statistical¹ discrepancy² in merchandise trade, saying the discrepancy's share in bilateral³ trade is dropping.

　　The report was based on a study conducted by the China-U.S. Joint⁴ Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in an effort to explain and quantify a discrepancy in official China-U.S. merchandise trade statistics via research of published data for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

　　The report was signed by both China's Ministry⁵ of Commerce (MOC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

　　"The statistical discrepancy's share in bilateral trade is declining continuously," the report said.

　　The greatest discrepancy in the statistics was in China's exports to the U.S., which accounted for 88 percent of the total discrepancy, the report said.

　　Major causes of the discrepancy in China's export data include differences in trade moving directly from China to the U.S., the amount of goods shipped via intermediary countries and value added in those countries, as well as conceptual and methodological differences, the report said.

　　After adjusting the identified factors, the discrepancies⁶ for 2008, 2009 and 2010 dropped by 71 percent, 64 percent and 67 percent, respectively, according to the report.

　　Based on the percentages, the U.S trade deficit⁷ with China should be 22 percent, 20 percent and 19 percent lower than indicated by previous data for the three years, according to MOC.

　　The JCCT was established in 1983 as a platform for China and the U.S to promote trade relations and address issues of mutual⁸ concern.

1 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

2 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。