The United States has overtaken China as Germany’s primary trading partner in the first quarter of this year. Based on data from the German Statistics Office, this trend can be seen: commerce between China and Germany was just under 60 billion euros, while trade between the U.S. and Germany totaled 63 billion euros ($68 billion).
Trade with China has decreased due to several reasons, such as China’s increased domestic manufacturing of commodities that were formerly imported from Germany. Furthermore, trade with the US has increased because of the country’s robust economy.
Commerzbank economist Vincent Stamer says that while imports and exports from China have decreased, German exports to the US have increased significantly. Structural reasons, such as China’s advancement up the value chain ladder and German companies favouring local production, contribute to this shift.
Germany aims to reduce its reliance on China due to political differences, but it has not yet indicated what specific actions it will take. According to Juergen Matthes of the German Economic Institute (IW), German imports from China declined by almost 12% year over year in the first quarter, while exports to China decreased by a little over 1%.
