International trade in China has advanced rapidly since the opening of the economy in 1979. Exports and imports have grown faster than world trade for more than 20 years and China's share in global trade has increased steadily since 1979. This began somewhat slowly in the 1980s after the relaxation of all pervasive and complex import and export controls, but accelerated in the 1990s with broader trade reforms including significant tariff reductions and raced in the 2000s after China joined WTO.
In International trade in China, China has increased its exports and export share into advanced country markets, and has at the same time become a crucial export destination, especially for regional economies. The share of advanced China imports has risen over the last two decades, with particularly sharp increases since the early 1990s the United States, in Japan and the European Union. China's role in Asian regional trade has also become increasingly important. An increasing share of its imports come from within the region, and China is now among the most important export destinations for other Asian countries.
e.g. China now accounts for over 11 percent of Japan's exports, up from only 2 percent in 1990.
In International trade in China, while most of the breathtaking increases in exports to China have occurred from within the Asian region, the share of exports from the United States and the European Union to China have also increased, from 1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent in 2002. China's integration with the world economy has been an impressive earth shaking event with wide reaching implications for both the global and regional economies. There is still substantial development potential of the country and China could maintain relatively strong export growth for many more years to come.
In International trade in China, China's export base has changed from a very heavy reliance on textiles and other light manufacturing. Light manufacturing accounted for more than 40 percent of China's exports in the early 1990s and the products largely consisted of toys, footwear, clothing and other miscellaneous manufactured articles. The larger portion of the remaining exports was accounted for by manufactured goods (mostly textiles) and machinery and transport (small
electronics).
In International trade in China, in recent years, China has made substantial gains in other export categories. These have including more sophisticated electronics such as automated data processing equipment, computers, office machines, telecommunications and sound equipment, electronics, electrical machinery, travel goods, furniture and industrial supplies. And we forgot to mention auto and aerospace. The share of China's exports represented by machinery and transport (including electronics) increased from 17 per cent in 1993 to 41 per cent in 2003. During the same period, the share of miscellaneous manufacturing came down from 42 percent to 28 percent.
For more information on China's trading strengths, log onto chinatradinghub.com
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