China Overtakes Germany To Become World's Biggest Exporter

by amyellensoden | January 11, 2010 at 09:14 am

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In the 2009 year, China has officially become the World's biggest exporter after overtaking Germany. Given the economic slump that many nations have felt the weight of in the last year, China experienced an interesting turn of events by the end of 2009. After months of little demand, the end of the year brought the opposite trend for China with exports increasing considerably.

The low cost manufacturers and ability to continuously sell abroad in the face of economic decline have given China a greater voice in the global economy. China even beat the United States in the 2009 year to attain the position of having the World's largest auto market. This was a title the nation was not expected to gain until as late as 2020.

Total 2009 exports were more than $1.2 trillion, China's customs agency said Sunday. That was ahead of the 816 billion euros ($1.17 trillion) forecast for Germany by its foreign trade organization, BGA.

China's new status is mostly symbolic but highlights its growing presence as an industrial power, major buyer of oil, iron ore and other commodities and, increasingly, as an investor and key voice in managing the global economy.

Comparatively, Germany overall sells machinery and industrial goods while China exports smaller items such as toys and furniture. This generally means that China exports more of low-level goods while Germany exports more high-level goods. The success of China should lead o greater success for Germany, however. As China's economy grows, Germany too will be pushed to grow as an exporter. It was only in December 2009 that China's exports rebounded after over a year of economic decline. By the end of 2009, exports had jumped by 17.7 percent.