Changing positions in trade relations

Official figures from the German Statistical Office show that the US has surpassed China to become Germany's most important trading partner in the first quarter of 2024. Specifically, the total bilateral trade turnover between Germany and the US reached 63 billion EUR (68 billion USD), while this figure with China was just under 60 billion EUR.

Long Beach Cargo Port in California, USA

In 2023, China was Germany's largest trading partner for the eighth consecutive year, with a total trade turnover of 253 billion euros, just a few hundred million euros higher than the US. Explaining this "change of position", economist Vincent Stamer of Commerzbank said: "Germany's exports to the US have increased further due to the world's largest economy growing strongly, while both exports and imports from China have decreased."

According to Juergen Matthes of the German Economic Institute (IW), China's imports of goods into Germany in the first quarter of this year fell by nearly 12% compared to the same period last year. The US now accounts for about 10% of Germany's export market share, while China's share has fallen below 6%.

According to CNBC, Mr. Carsten Brzeski, head of global macro research at ING Research, said that this change is the result of several factors: strong growth in the US has boosted demand for German products, weaker domestic demand in China and China's ability to produce goods that it previously imported from Germany (mainly cars) has reduced German exports to China.

The US has long been a bigger export market for Germany than China, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank. In addition, rising tensions between the European Union and China, as both sides investigate each other’s trade practices and threaten to impose tariffs on imports, are also a factor affecting German-Chinese trade.

A survey by the German economic institute Ifo found that the number of companies relying on China fell from 46% in February 2022 to 37% in February 2024. This is related to the fact that German companies, along with many other large companies globally, are diversifying their supply chains in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

KHANH MINH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/doi-vi-tri-trong-quan-he-thuong-mai-post739322.html