Import Export China

Konrad Wolfenstein

6 years ago

Import Export China – Shanghai Skyline – Image: chuyuss|Shutterstock.com

China, too, is increasingly dependent on imports

The country's main import products include machinery and electronics such as vehicles, integrated circuits, chemicals, metallurgical products, mineral products (crude oil, iron ore, etc.), rubber, plastics in primary forms, and textiles.

The Chinese agricultural sector has also become increasingly reliant on imports in recent years. China is the world's largest importer of soybeans and meat and is among the leading importers of dairy products, wine, other foodstuffs, and beverages.

In 2013, China became the world's leading trading nation, overtaking the United States. China's total imports and exports reached 31.5 trillion yuan in 2019. The trade value of goods imports exceeded two trillion US dollars that year, representing almost 14 percent of global imports and making China the world's second-largest importer. Regarding trade in services, travel and transportation-related service imports account for approximately 75 percent of all service imports into China.

China's main import partners in 2019 were the ASEAN countries, the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. While imports from the United States still amount to over US$100 billion annually, they have been declining since 2017 due to the ongoing trade war and import tariffs between the two countries.

Despite the upward trend in China's imports, the country's exports far exceed its imports, creating the world's largest trade surplus. In 2019, China had a positive trade balance of over US$420 billion. However, unlike trade in goods, trade in services shows a deepening deficit, with service imports to China exceeding exports by almost US$300 billion annually.

Related to this:

The United States and China are the world's largest economies with a complex and long-standing trade relationship. As of 2019, China was the United States' third-largest export market after Canada and Mexico. U.S. commodity exports to China increased significantly over the past two decades but have declined since the start of a trade war in 2018.

In 2019, the United States exported goods worth approximately $107 billion to China, the lowest figure since 2011. Nevertheless, China was among the top five export destinations for most countries that year.