Both countries needed new recipes for revival and growth, and turned to each other in a marriage of convenience. China provided cheap goods that enabled income-constrained American consumers to make ends meet, and the US provided the external demand that underpinned Deng Xiaoping’s export-led growth strategy.
美国和中国之间的相互依存始于20世纪70年代末，当时美国陷入了严重的滞涨，而中国经济仍未摆脱文化大革命的阴影。两国都需要复兴和增长的新办法，情投意合走到了一起。中国提供廉价商品，让囊中羞涩的美国消费者实现收支相抵，而美国提供的外部需求成为邓小平出口拉动增长战略的基础。