Chinese consumers push US exports higher

China remained the United States' third-biggest export destination, behind Canada and Mexico, in 2012, having purchased nearly $109 billion worth of US goods, according to a report by the US-China Business Council.

Each of 30 US states exported more than $1 billion in goods to China while 10 others shipped more than $500 million. Leading industries were agriculture, transportation and electronics, the Washington-based organization said in an annual survey released on Thursday.

Although GDP growth in the world's second-largest economy slowed last year, China still saw the value of imports from the US increase by 6.5 percent, or $6.6 billion, the council said.