The U.S. racked up a $295 billion trade deficit with China in 2012.

That deficit continues apace, as evidenced by this week's report from the Commerce Department on the monthly U.S. trade figures, which showed the U.S. racking up another $21.7 billion goods deficit with China.

The U.S. is importing far more from China than it is exporting.  And as our chart of the week shows (courtesy of National Journal), this bilateral trade deficit dwarfs any trade gap that the U.S. has with other industrialized nations.

In The Hill this week, Vicki Needham quoted Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Executive Director Scott Paul on the implications of this ongoing trade deficit with China:

"The widening March trade deficit is bad news for the economy," said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM).

"For one thing, the expanding trade deficit means that growth in GDP will be lower," he said.

Paul said surging imports indicate that the U.S. and China are falling back into bad habits.

He argues that Beijing has not meaningfully adjusted the yuan’s value against the dollar this year, creating a larger trade gap.

Read the latest Alliance for American Manufacturng (AAM) statement on the continuing U.S trade deficit with China.