According to preliminary data from the German Federal Statistical Office, in the first half of 2024, the United States is set to surpass China as Germany’s largest trading partner. As Germany strives to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market, the United States has provided strong economic support.
In the period from January to June, Germany’s total imports and exports with the United States amounted to around 127 billion euros (139 billion dollars), while the total with China stood at 122 billion euros.
As the world’s largest economy, the United States actually surpassed China in the first quarter of this year, becoming Germany’s largest trading partner. Prior to this, China had been Germany’s top trading partner for eight consecutive years.
Data shows that from January to March this year, the total import and export trade volume between Germany and the United States reached 63 billion euros (approximately 68 billion dollars), slightly lower than the volume with China.
This shift comes as Germany, in its first disclosed strategy towards China last year, criticized the “unfair practices” of the Chinese authorities and aimed to reduce trade with China. Additionally, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Germany learned from its dependence on Russian energy supply and has been striving to decrease its reliance on China.
In 2023, trade between China and Germany began to decline significantly, dropping by 15.5% compared to the previous year.
Lola Machleid, a foreign trade expert at the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), told Reuters reporters that the resilience of the U.S. economy has contributed to boosting Germany’s exports.
Overall, in the past six months, Germany’s exports to the United States have grown by 3.3%, reaching nearly 81 billion euros, while exports to China have decreased by nearly 3%, just over 48 billion euros.
At the same time, Germany’s imports from China dropped by nearly 8% to 73.5 billion euros, while imports from the United States decreased by only 3.4% to 46.1 billion euros, mainly due to energy supplies.
Juergen Matthes from the German Economic Institute (IW) pointed out that in the first quarter, Germany’s imports from China fell by nearly 12% year-on-year, while exports to China only decreased by a little over 1%.
Matthes stated, “China’s economic performance has been worse than many expected, while the U.S. economy has exceeded expectations, which is likely the reason behind this situation.”