— Following is the daily “Profile America” feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
CHINESE NEW YEAR
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2016, Profile America — Chinese New Year, Monday, February 8th, marked the beginning of 4714, the year of the monkey in the Chinese Zodiac.
Chinese Year 4714
This month in the year 4670, more familiar to us as 1972, President Richard Nixon surprised everyone with his dramatic state visit to China. This successful diplomatic initiative led to expanded contacts between the U.S. and that nation. Today, China is a major U.S. trading partner. In 2014, China bought nearly $124 billion of American goods, while we imported over $466 billion worth from that once isolated nation.
There are about 3.7 million Americans of Chinese and Taiwanese heritage, the largest group among the Asian population in the U.S.
Sources:
Chinese New Year/accessed 12/11/2015: www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear/WhenIsChineseNewYear.aspx
Chinese calendar year in 1972/accessed 12/11/2015: www.archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/02/21/page/2/article/chinese-here-cheer-nixon-call-him-a-new-marco-polo
U.S.-China relations/accessed 12/11/2015: www.history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/china-policy
2014 Trade balance with China: www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2015
Chinese population in U.S.: www.factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_5YR_B02006&prodType=table
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at www.census.gov (look for “Multimedia Gallery” by the “Newsroom” button).
