WASHINGTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China continues to be an important contributor to U.S. economic growth, said the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) in its annual report on U.S. exports to China on Tuesday.

Over the past 10 years, U.S. exports to China have increased 198 percent, higher than the growth to any of the other top ten U. S. export markets, including its two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico.

The report said that the exports to China helped support a wide range of industries including transportation equipment, crop production, computers and electronics, and chemical industries in the United States. It quoted data from the U.S. Commerce Department as saying that global exports, including those to China, supported 11.7 million jobs in the United States in 2014.

Data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that U.S. exports of goods to China rose 1.5 percent from 2013 to 124.7 billion dollars in 2014, making it the U.S.' third largest export market.

The report expected the growth of U.S. exports to China is likely to remain at a lower rate than seen in the past years, as China is undergoing a slower economic growth.

But it expected U.S. companies to have broader opportunities in the Chinese market, in view of its growing middle class and its change toward a consumer-driven growth model.