China topples US in 2020 as top EU trade partner: Eurostat

17 Feb '21

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

China was the European Union’s (EU) primary trade partner last year, taking the top spot occupied until last year by the United States. Despite the pandemic’s impact on global trade last year, EU-China trade grew while imports and exports to the United States dropped compared with 2019, according to the latest data by the EU's statistics office Eurostat.

In 2020, exports of EU goods to China increased by 2.2 per cent and imports went up by 5.6 per cent, while EU trade with the rest of the world dramatically dropped—down by 9.4 per cent in term of exports, and down by 11.6 per cent in terms imports compared with 2019. EU exports to China in 2020 amounted to €202.5 billion while imports reached €383.5 billion.

The pandemic severely hit trans-Atlantic trade, with exports of European goods to the United States falling by 8.2 per cent year on year. Imports fell 13.2 per cent.

Brussels is trying to intensify its economic ties with Beijing by concluding an EU-China investment pact, and this has raised concerns among European lawmakers and the civil society.

Eurostat estimates also show that EU trade started recovering during the second half of last year to the point that, in December 2020, exports of EU goods to the rest of the world as well as intra-EU trade were larger compared to the same month of the previous year.

During the global trade crisis, the bloc increased its trade surplus, which was €30.1 billion in 2020 compared with €22.1 billion the previous year.

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