The United States Continues to be China's Top Import Partner
 
Aug 26, 2016
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In recent years China has made the news as the world’s leading exporter of goods with a total of over $2 trillion being exported in 2015 alone. The United States continues to hold the number one position and it doesn’t look like they are set to lose that spot any time in the near future, but when combined, China does export more goods to the Asian continent. Going into the fourth quarter of 2016, there is no doubt that the list of countries that China exports to will not change in rank to any great degree and that’s why political relations need to be a focus going forward.

China Leads the Globe in Exports

In terms of exports, China leads on a global level with the United States in second place and Germany coming in third. The top five global exporters being China, the United States, Germany, Japan and believe it or not, the Netherlands with positions six and seven being held by the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong respectively. Rankings are always shown in US dollars since it is still considered to be the strongest currency in the financial markets.

US Trade Deficit with China

Those studying in online MBA programs will be the first to admit that the number of imports the United States receives from China is ultimately the reason why they are in such an extreme deficit. In the reverse, the United States only exported approximately $116 billion to China in 2015 while importing almost $482 billion in the same year. That leaves a deficit of about $365 billion. It doesn’t take a masters in business administration online to see the reason why the US is in a trade deficit year after year but they are not alone. Again, as the world’s leading exporter, few countries could hope to export as much as China ships to their trade partners.

Top 15 Countries China Exports To

While no one comes near to the amount that China exports to the United States, the top 15 countries account for over 2/3 of China’s total exports. The import partners that topped the list in 2015 were as follows:

1. The United States
2. Hong Kong
3. Japan
4. South Korea
5. Germany
6. Vietnam
7. United Kingdom
8. Netherlands
9. India
10. Singapore
11. Taiwan
12. Malaysia
13. Australia
14. Thailand
15. United Arab Emirates

What is interesting to note is that many of those countries that receive the biggest value of imports from China are considered to be emerging nations. It will be worth watching how those nations progress in coming years.

One of the leading areas of concentration for many business students is a focus on how to even out the trade deficit with China when the US continues to import many times over what they export. This has even been a talking point in the political realm with this being an election year and the economy not yet recovered to pre-recession days. Although financial analysts will be watching China’s top import partners in 2017, it is forecast that the list will not change to any great degree.