Where are China’s exports going? Less and less to the US, the latest trade data confirms

From toys and furniture to textiles and clothing, there has been a sharp drop-off in the percentage of US imports from China, and countries such as Mexico are taking advantage

Some Chinese companies have responded by setting up shop in Mexico, near the border, where goods are assembled and then brought to the US

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In terms of furniture and toys, China’s share of US imports plunged to 43 per cent during the first four months of the year - the first time below 50 per cent in 22 years. Photo: dpa

Published: 11:00pm, 20 Jun 2023Updated: 2:39am, 21 Jun 2023

An acceleration in supply-chain reshoring is the key reason for 10 consecutive months of declining Chinese exports to the United States, according to trade data, and analysts expect that the fall will continue – with lasting implications for overall exports from the “world’s factory”.

While weak demand caused by a slowing economy and high inflation have suppressed US imports in general, the decline of imports from China has been much more substantial compared with rising imports from countries such as Mexico, according to data from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

The drop has led to a sharper shrinkage of China’s share across all major products that it has been the biggest supplier of to the US, since late last year, even after Beijing lifted its strict zero-Covid policy that once caused severe supply-chain disruptions.

The trend is particularly remarkable in textiles and apparel. In the first four months of this year, 20.9 per cent of textiles and apparel that the US imported were from China – down about 4 percentage points from 2022, and almost half of the total seen 10 years ago, according to figures from the Office of Textiles and Apparel under the US Department of Commerce.

Apart from Covid-related supply-chain disruptions and US-China trade tensions, the implementation of the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act last June has further discouraged US fashion companies from sourcing cotton products from China, according to Sheng Lu, an assistant professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware.

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