General

According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, the total trade volume between China and the United States in 2022 increased by 0.6% year-on-year, reaching a record high of 759.427 billion US dollars.

Since 2018, the world's two largest economies have been engaged in mutual trade measures. The latest data shows that in 2022, the import volume of the United States from China reached $581.783 billion, an increase of 1.2%. The reason is that American consumers are spending more on Chinese made goods such as toys and mobile phones.

Although the growth of trade between China and the United States is to some extent a result of rising living costs, these numbers also indicate that even after years of trade conflicts between China and the United States, the two countries still rely on each other. Deborah Elmes, founder of the Asian Trade Center, said in an interview, "I think this is an important sign of the actual difficulty of decoupling. Even if governments, businesses, and consumers want to separate, from an economic perspective, it is difficult for businesses and consumers to provide products at prices they are willing to pay in a decoupled world

In 2018, the Trump administration began to increase trade measures with Beijing. After decades of increasing imports from China, Trump began imposing tariffs on Chinese goods worth over $300 billion. China counterattacked by imposing import tariffs on approximately $100 billion in US goods. After a year of trade measures, the total import and export trade in 2019 decreased by 15.3%

In 2020, due to the severe impact of the pandemic, the economies of various countries were severely affected, and China became the only major economy with positive economic growth in the world. Import and export trade exceeded expectations, and the total trade volume between China and the United States increased by 4.98%.

In 2021, the goods imported by the United States from China rebounded significantly with the total import and export volume, reaching a historic high of 576.075 billion US dollars. The total trade volume between China and the United States continued to grow, with a year-on-year increase of 28.79%, reaching a historic high.

Trade data best reflects economic trends, and after the United States implemented tariff measures aimed at changing the trade structure between China and the United States, there was still a significant surge in US imports from China. In addition, although the United States has been seeking to shift its supply chain from China to other countries and rebuild factories, the amount of Chinese goods purchased by the United States is higher than ever before.

With rising inflation, the surge in international oil prices, and strong demand for import and export commodities, it is expected that the total trade volume will continue to increase in 2023.