US Trade with China in 2007

America Imports 11.7% More from China while USA Exports Gain 18.2%

Jul 3, 2008
Daniel Workman

Buildings in Shanghai China - kaconnors@yahoo.com (morguefile 171125)

Semiconductors, civilian aircraft, soybeans and copper were among the leading U.S. exports into the People's Republic last year yet American coal shipments were down 43%.

Mainland China’s largest trade partner for export shipments is the United States of America, which consumes about 21% of global Chinese exports. Other major clients for Chinese exports include Hong Kong (16% of total Chinese exports), Japan (9.5%), South Korea (4.6%) and Germany (4.2%).

America products account for 7.5% of imports into the People’s Republic. Japan (14.6%), South Korea (11.3%) and Taiwan (10.9%) generate significantly higher portions of China’s imports when compared with American-made shipments.

In 2007, China exported an estimated US$1.2 trillion worth of goods onto the international trade marketplace. Chinese imports totalled roughly $900 billion, resulting in China’s robust $300-billion overall trade surplus last year.

Chinese Trade with U.S.

A closer look at China’s trade statistics with the United States reveals that China enjoyed a US$256.3 billion trade surplus with its American trade partner in 2007. The most recent surplus statistic is 207% higher than the China-US surplus in 2003 and represents a 10.2% gain from the $232.6 billion surplus in 2006.

Exports from China to U.S.

With a population of 1.3 billion, China exported US$321.5 billion worth of merchandise to the United States in 2007, an 11.7% increase from 2006 and up 211% in 4 years. The following product categories represent about 58% of Chinese exports to America.

Computer accessories …US$28.1 billion – down 2.9% from 2006 (8.7% of China-to-U.S. exports)
Sporting goods and toys … $27.6 billion – up 24.2% (8.6%)
Other household products (e.g. clocks) … $27.55 billion – up 3.7% (8.6%)
Computers … $23.2 billion – up 33.8% (7.2%)
Non-cotton apparel and textile furnishings … $15.8 billion – up 8.4% (4.9%)
Furniture and household items (e.g. baskets) … $14 billion – up 5.7% (4.3%)
Cotton apparel and furnishings … $13 billion – up 31.7% (4%)
Video equipment (e.g. television receivers, DVD players) … $12.9 billion – up 9.8% (4%)
Telecommunications equipment … $12.6 billion – up 44.7% (3.9%)
Footwear … $11.2 billion – up 4.3% (3.5%).

In aggregate, China’s top 10 export product categories experienced increased sales to the U.S. in 2007, up 13.4% from 2006. This contrasts with a 16.9% gain for the top 10 Chinese exports to the U.S. from 2005 to 2006.

Fastest-Growing Chinese Exports to U.S.

Below are selected Chinese exports to America in 2007 with the highest percentage sales increases from 2006.

DVDs, tapes and disks … US$854 million (up 618% from 2006)
Pulp and paper machinery … $436 million (up 180%)
Laboratory testing and control equipment … $573 million (up 89.5%)
Fruits and preparations (e.g. orange juice) … $816 million (up 69.4%)
Fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides … $462 million (up 68.7%).

Fastest-Declining Chinese Exports to U.S.

Selected Chinese exports to America in 2007 with the highest percentage sales decreases from 2006 are listed below.

Coal and related fuels … US$227.8 million (down 43% from 2006)
Stereo equipment including handheld devices … $5.5 billion (down 24%)
Complete and assembled vehicles … $308.4 million (down 18%)
Motorcycles and parts … $248.3 million (down 15%)
Plastic materials … $440.8 million (down 13%).

Chinese Imports from U.S.

Chinese imports from the U.S. rose by 18.2% to $65.2 billion in 2007, up 230% since 2003.

Of American exports to China in 2007, the following product categories had the highest values and in total represented 51% of all U.S. shipments into China.

Semiconductors … US$6.5 billion – up 10.6% from 2006 (10% of Chinese imports from America)
Complete civilian aircraft … $6.4 billion – up 20.1% (9.8%)
Soybeans … $4.1 billion – up 62.6% (6.3%)
Plastic materials … $2.9 billion – up 36.6% (4.5%)
Other industrial machines … $2.87 billion – up 44.6% (4.4%)
Copper … $2.5 billion – up 32.7% (3.8%)
Pulpwood … $2.1 billion – up 38.5% (3.1%)
Steelmaking materials … $2.05 billion – up 22.9% (3.1%)
Organic chemicals … $1.9 billion – up 42.2% (2.9%)
Aluminum … $1.8 billion – up 4.2% (2.7%).

Last year, China’s top 10 import product categories from the U.S. grew by 27.6% from 2006. From 2005 to 2006, the top 10 Chinese imports from the U.S. had gained about 40%.

Fastest-Growing Chinese Imports from U.S.

Below are selected American exports to China in 2007 with the highest percentage sales increases from 2006.

Jewellery … US$42 million (up 269% from 2006)
Non-metallic minerals … $46 million (up 156%)
Oilseeds and food oils … $150.4 million (up 148%)
Animal feeds… $62.9 million (up 115%)
Fuel oil … $111.2 million (up 113%).

Fastest-Declining Chinese Imports from U.S.

Selected American exports to China in 2007 with the highest percentage sales decreases from 2006 are listed below.

Railway transportation equipment … US$93.2 million (down 57.6% in 2006)
Chemical fertilizers … $157.5 million (down 44.5%)
Raw cotton … $1.5 billion (down 29.2%)
Textile sewing machines … $83.4 million (down 28.5%)
Inorganic chemicals … $338.3 million (down 27.9%).

Sources for this Article

This article presents independent calculations and insights based on data drawn from the CIA World Factbook and the U.S. Census Bureau – Foreign Trade Statistics.