China’s exports to US endure steepest plunge in nearly 30 years
- According to Chinese customs data, total shipments to the US last year fell by 13.1 per cent compared to a year earlier, to US$500.3 billion
- US data also indicates that China is about to lose its position as the top exporting nation to the US for the first time in 17 years
China’s exports to the United States suffered their deepest decline in 2023 in almost three decades, as Washington’s efforts at reshoring and “friendshoring” supply chains create diversions.
Total shipments from China to the US last year fell by 13.1 per cent compared to a year earlier, to US$500.3 billion, according to China customs data released on Friday.
It is the biggest slump since the agency’s records began in 1995 – more than the declines experienced either during the global financial crisis of 2008-09 or the start of the US-China trade war in 2018-19.
Still, analysts said, the dramatic drop – partly due to a high base in 2022 when US importers front-loaded inventory amid Covid-19 supply chain disruptions – does not prove a real reduction in the US reliance on “Made in China”.
Rather, they contended, it indicates a lengthening of the global supply chains, in which China remains an important part.