China International Trade – General Information

China international trade is a huge subject but in this article I want to examine the potential for businesses around the world to begin exporting and importing with China. It is important to start with some background information. China is the most populous country in the world with an estimated population in the region of 1.4 billion people. To put this into perspective, this is nearly twice the population of Europe.

Just 20 years ago China was the sixth largest economy in the world but now it has grown to be the second largest in world. China is the largest exporter in the world with a very wide range of product and services for export which will be covered in the import opportunities section.

China International Trade – China Economy

By 2021 the China economy had reached a GDP of $17.7 trillion which is an increase of 8.1% from 2020. China recorded a very impressive 18.3% economic growth rate in the first quarter of 2021 and this is the fastest rate of growth recorded in China since records began in 1993. China continues to demonstrate considerable potential for further growth and technological development.

The three largest sectors of the China economy are services (54%), manufacturing (39%) and agriculture (7%). In 2021, the per capita disposable income of residents in China reached 35,128 Yuan, a nominal increase of 9.1 percent over the previous year and equivalent to $5,200. The OECD have predicted China economic growth at 4.9% for 2023.

China International Trade – Import Opportunities

The main exports from China by category are: electrical machinery and equipment, computers, furniture, plastics, vehicles, optical and medical equipment, clothing, metal products, clothing/textiles and toys. This is by no means a definitive list, indeed we have manufacturers and companies from China listed in every category of our own blackcat360.com website, so whatever you are seeking to buy China is a good place to start.

China is a member of the WTO and has free trade agreements with New Zealand, Chile, Iceland, Pakistan, Singapore, Peru, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Georgia, Japan, Cambodia and Panama making importing to these countries from China particularly easy. Major importers of Chinese goods also include United States, Germany, India and South Korea.

Good quality China suppliers offer an almost unique combination of quality, price and capacity. This makes China an attractive country to source from but it is also a market filled with pitfalls so it is important to use a company like Sino Inspection to ensure that you find the correct supplier and everything goes to plan.

China International Trade – Export Opportunities

So time to look at China international trade from an import perspective. China is a substantial importer as well as exporter and 2019 imports amounted to over 2 billion USD. The main categories of imports for China are cars, crude oil, iron ore, petroleum gases and integrated circuits but as with exports there is potential for trade in many products and services.

China is the second largest market for luxury goods in the world but imported goods in this category have been the subject of high import taxes, for example 50 percent tax on cosmetics. However it is now anticipated that these taxes will be reduced or even scrapped in some cases which will open up the China market rather more for suppliers of watches, branded clothing, shoes, suitcases and some consumer electronics.

China International Trade – Additional Resources

This article was written by Carl Roughsedge a director of international trade portal website www.blackcat360.com blackcat360.com is a valuable source of information on the opportunities of international trade and provides free listings to exporters. For more information email to [email protected]