China Exports And Imports

Economy Of China

China has a socialist market economy, dominated by government-owned industry in an open market. This economic approach is sometimes referred to as state capitalism. The economy in China is the second largest in the world by gross domestic product (GDP) and the largest in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP). For about 30 years, the economy in this country was the fastest growing in the world, compared to other large economies. During this time, it experienced an annual growth rate of 10%. China is also the largest trading country in the world. This article takes a look at some of its major exports and imports.

China: Exports

In 2014, China exported $2.37 trillion worth of goods. The largest export category is machines, specifically electronics, which represent almost half of total exports, $1.13 trillion. The five most exported products within this category are computers (8.8%), broadcasting equipment (6.6%), telephones (4.5%), integrated circuits (2.6%), and office machine parts (2%). After machines, textiles and metals are the next largest export categories, representing $256 billion and $185 billion respectively.

China’s top three export partners are the United States ($432 billion, or 18%), Hong Kong ($258 billion, or 11%), and Japan ($166 billion, or 7%). This partnership can be seen in the top five export products as well. For example, the US is the top importer of computers (29%) and broadcasting equipment (26%). Hong Kong is the number 1 importer of telephones (28%), integrated circuits (36%), and office machine parts (26%).

Aside from importing machines and electronics, other significant export products to the US are textiles ($39.7 billion) and miscellaneous ($43.4 billion), this category includes goods like light fixtures, stuffed animals, mattresses, and seats. The second and third largest export products, after machines and electronics, going to Hong Kong are precious metals ($17.8 billion) and textiles ($16.5 billion). Japan also imports textiles ($24.7 billion) and metals ($9.58 billion)

Over the last five years, exports from China have increased 11.8% annually.

Imports To China

In 2014, China imported $1.53 trillion worth of goods, placing China as the second largest importer in the world. This gave the country a trade surplus of $834 billion. Its largest import category is mineral products which represent $403 billion of total imports, a little less than one-third. Within this category, the most imported product is crude petroleum, making up 13% of all imports. After mineral products, machines and transportation are its next largest import categories, representing $383 billion and $117 billion respectively.

China’s top three import partners are South Korea ($142 billion, or 9.3%), the US ($134 billion, or 8.8%), and Other Asia ($131 billion, or 8.6%). The major suppliers of crude petroleum, the country’s number 1 import, to China are Saudi Arabia (16%), Angola (13%), and Russia (11%). Its second largest imported product is integrated circuits, which makes up 8.8% of all imports. Major suppliers of this product are Other Asia (49%), South Korea (16%), and Japan (6.5%). The third largest imported good to China is cars, which makes up 3.6% of all imports. These cars originate in Germany (30%), the US (21%), and the UK (17%)

Over the last five years, imports to China have increased by 14.4% annually.