In 2024, China imported approximately 2.59 trillion U.S. dollars worth of goods. This indicated an increase in import value by about 1.1 percent compared to the previous year. Import development in ChinaIn 2013, China had surpassed the United States as the world’s largest goods trader. That year, China’s imports and exports had summed up to more than four trillion U.S. dollars. There has been a fairly steady increase in imports over the last decade with the exception of 2009 and 2015-2016. China’s imports of goods had decreased by around eleven percent due to the global financial crisis in 2009, before recovering to a positive growth in 2010. In 2015, Chinese imports went down by 13.2 percent due to the global uncertainty following several geopolitical conflicts, disease outbreaks, and terrorism, according to the commerce minister of China.In 2023, China's import contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) ranged at around 14 percent. In the same year, Chinese exports exceeded the country's imports by around 822.1 billion U.S. dollars creating a hefty merchandise trade surplus. ASEAN and the European Union countries were China’s most important import trade partners, with imports worth approximately 2.7 trillion yuan and 1.9 trillion yuan respectively in 2023.

In May 2025, Chinese exports amounted to around ***** billion U.S. dollars. This indicated an increase in exports compared to the same period of the previous year. Export trade in China China overtook the United States as the world’s largest trading nation in 2013. In the years that followed, the country remained one of the strongest players in global and regional trade. According to the IMF, China’s total gross domestic product (GDP) had ranged at around ***** trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. Thus, exports of goods had accounted for more than a third of China’s total economic output that year. In 2024, China’s trade surplus amounted to *** billion U.S. dollars. Since the implementation of various reform strategies in 1979, China’s economic development has largely profited from its export-led growth strategy. In 2024, the most important export partner for China was ASEAN. Automatic data processing machines, integrated circuits, and clothes were among China’s main export goods. It is noticeable that China’s comparative advantage nowadays lies not only in labor-intensive manufactured goods. Over the past years, China has steadily moved up the global value chain by increasing the export share of high technology products such as computers and power devices. China has been frequently accused of currency manipulation by other countries. The country is criticized for deliberately keeping its currency yuan undervalued, to give Chinese goods export advantages.

The United States' total Imports in 2024 were valued at US$3.36 Trillion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. The United States' main import partners were: Mexico, China and Canada. The top three import commodities were: Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers; Electrical, electronic equipment and Vehicles other than railway, tramway. Total Exports were valued at US$2.06 Trillion. In 2024, The United States had a trade deficit of US$1.29 Trillion.