Are the forces that cause China's trade surplus with the USA good?

Purpose – This paper aims to conceptually argue that China's trade surplus with the USA is not good. Design/methodology/approach – Net exporters (like China) give up current consumption in order to gain claims against future production. This paper argues that the reasons why China is trading current consumption for claims on future production are not good. Findings – There are strong reasons to believe that China's trade surplus with the USA is not healthy for either China or the USA. Originality/value – Other scholars have discussed the trading of the present for the future that is involved in trade surpluses, but no one (to the author's knowledge) has discussed when such a trade is good or bad.