Balance of Trade

69840000000

Since 1995, China has been recording consistent trade surpluses. In 2021, the surplus hit $676.43 billion, the highest since records started in 1950, up from $523.99 bln in 2020 as exports increased more than 20% boosted by the post-covid economic recovery.

Exports YoY

-8.7%

Export growth has been a major component supporting China's rapid economic expansion. In 2019 China's exports increased 0.5 percent, slowing sharply from a 10 percent rise in 2018, with sales to the US falling sharply amid ongoing trade tensions. Machinery and transport equipment accounted for 48 percent of total exports, in particular electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances (14 percent), telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (12 percent), office machines and automatic data processing machines (8 percent), and general industrial machinery and equipment, and machine parts (5 percent). Other major export categories were: miscellaneous manufactured articles (23 percent) on the back of furniture and parts thereof (3 percent); manufactured goods classified chiefly by material (16 percent) such as textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles (5 percent), manufactures of metals (4 percent) and iron and steel (2 percent); chemicals and related products (6 percent); and food and live animals (3 percent). The EU and US were the largest destinations of China's shipments, accounting for 17 percent of exports each, followed by Hong Kong (11 percent), Japan (6 percent), South Korea (4 percent), Vietnam (4 percent), Germany (3 percent), India (3 percent) and the Netherlands (3 percent). The UK, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines accounted for 2 percent each.

Imports YoY

-10.6%

In 2019 imports to China fell 2.7 percent, the first yearly decline in three years, on weak domestic demand and persistent trade tensions with the US. Machinery and transport equipment accounted for 38 percent of total imports on the back of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances (21 percent), road vehicles (4 percent), telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (3 percent), and office machines and automatic data processing machines (3 percent). Other important categories were: mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (17 percent) led by petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (13 percent) and gas, natural and manufactured (3 percent); crude materials, inedible, except fuels (14 percent), such as metalliferous ores and metal scrap (9 percent); chemicals and related products (11 percent) due to organic chemicals (3 percent) and plastics in primary forms (3 percent); miscellaneous manufactured articles (7 percent); manufactured goods classified chiefly by material (7 percent); and food and live animals (4 percent). The biggest source of imports was the EU (13 percent of imports) of which Germany (5 percent) and France (2 percent), followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Japan (8 percent each), the US and Australia (6 percent each), Brazil (4 percent), Malaysia, Vietnam, Russia and Saudi Arabia (3 percent each), and Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia (2 percent each).

Baker Hughes Total Rig Count

US Total Rigs refer to the number of active US rigs drilling in a given week.

Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count

US Crude Oil Rigs refer to the number of active US rigs drilling for oil in a given week.