Despite the rapid expansion of U.S.-China trade ties, the increase in U.S. FDI in China, and the expanding
amount of economic research exploring these developments, a number of misconceptions distort the
popular understanding of U.S. multinationals in China. In this paper, we seek to correct four common
misunderstandings by providing a statistical portrait of several aspects of U.S. affiliate activity in the
country and placing this activity in its appropriate economic context.