US-China trade ‘becoming less directly interdependent’ amid decoupling despite ‘misleading’ data
- US exports to China increased by US$2.4 billion compared to a year earlier to US$153.8 billion in 2022, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis
- But the data is ‘misleading’ according to the Peterson Institute of International Economics and the ‘two economies are becoming less directly interdependent’
China is turning away from US imports, exacerbated by Washington’s effort to impose controls on the sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as part of a bilateral decoupling, according to a new report, contrary to suggestions of record trade last year.
In 2022, US exports to China increased by US$2.4 billion compared to a year earlier to US$153.8 billion, while American imports from China increased by US$31.8 billion to US$536.8 billion, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.
But despite overall trade showing signs of resilience, the US-based Peterson Institute of International Economics (PIIE) said that the “widely reported data point was misleading” after it was suggested the supposed economic decoupling had not yet arrived after trade hit record levels in 2022.
Through trade, the two economies are becoming less directly interdependent
“Through trade, the two economies are becoming less directly interdependent,” the Washington-based think tank said in a report released on Thursday.