US exports to China declined 4.3% year on year in 2023 amid trade tensions: report

Stunted economic growth on mainland and Sino-American political challenges weighed on 2023 decline led by agricultural and semiconductor shipments

US-China trade ‘must be factored into policy decisions related to the future of the bilateral relationship’, says US-China Business Council

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US exports of semiconductors and their components to China fell last year to their lowest level since 2016. Photo: Reuters

Ji Siqiin Washington

Published: 1:35am, 24 Apr 2024Updated: 5:45am, 24 Apr 2024

Led by a decline in agricultural goods and semiconductor shipments, the volume of American goods exported to China fell in 2023 amid continuing tensions between the world’s two largest economies, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The United States exported a total of US$144.9 billion in goods to China last year, marking a 4.3 per cent decline from a year earlier when the figure reached a record-high US$151.4 billion, said the report by the US-China Business Council.

While US exports to most other foreign economies dipped in 2023 owing to geopolitical tensions like the war in Ukraine, stunted economic growth in China and Sino-American government-level challenges also weighed on the bilateral trade relationship, the USCBC said, separate from long-standing barriers such as tariffs.

“It is important for us to remind US lawmakers and those in influential positions that every state and congressional district in the US maintains its own economic and trade relationship with China,” said Craig Allen, president of the non-profit group representing more than 270 American companies.

“Changes in US-China trade policy should be considered very carefully.”

“Trade between the US and China also contributes to geopolitical stability and must be factored into policy decisions related to the future of the bilateral relationship,” he added.