China Loses Ground as Germany’s Largest Trading Partner
Germany distances itself from China to get closer to the United States
The economic and trade war unleashed by the USA against China is beginning to produce the first positive results for Washington. The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced that China “is no longer Germany’s most important trading partner.” German statistics speak for themselves: in the first quarter of 2024, the USA overtook the People’s Republic of China, accused in Europe of dumping and unfair methods of competition.
In the period January through March 2024, Germany’s trade with the USA, including exports and imports, amounted to 63 billion euros. At the same time, trade with China was slightly lower at around 60 billion euros. Washington has thus stolen from Beijing a primacy that had been maintained for many years: in 2023, the People’s Republic of China remained at the top of the list of Germany’s main trading partners for the eighth consecutive year with a trade volume of around 253 billion euros.
According to German experts from the German Economic Institute in Cologne (IW), geopolitically motivated reorientation is behind this development. “From a rival China to a transatlantic partner,” commented to Welt TV Jürgen Mattes, IW analyst.
