http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2012/01/22/china-is-175-6-dependent-on-the-u-s/
Well, as a professor, Gordon is misleading with that 175% number.
Since China is an assembly plant, all foreign company assemble their product in China. So in turn China buys parts from other countries, and assemble them to sell to US and other nations.
It is more accurate to say, US runs trade deficits to all regions but masked under China's trade.
Good example is Apple Iphone, the real profit Chinese makes are meager. Koreans, Malasians, Taiwan and Apple itself makes the windfall.
The reason US can run such trade deficits is because of recycling the trade surplus dollar to bonds and its printing press. One day, when that cycle breaks, all goes to hell.
And that day is not too far away, for US, China and rest of world.
Dark ages.