The top ten countries to which China exports the most

Discover the top ten countries importing the most from China, with insights into trade values, key export products, and market trends shaping global commerce.

United States

The United States is one of China’s major export destinations. In 2024, China’s total exports to the US reached 3.73372 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%. Meanwhile, China’s imports from the US totaled 1.164061 trillion yuan, resulting in a significant trade surplus.

China’s exports to the US are primarily concentrated in machinery and electronics, accounting for 41.45% of total exports, or 1.547584 trillion yuan. Among these, smartphones (250.150 billion yuan), laptops (179.870 billion yuan), and communications/audio-visual equipment and parts (209.156 billion yuan) are the primary export commodities. Furthermore, textiles, footwear, and apparel (468.626 billion yuan) and furniture, toys, and miscellaneous sportswear (459.461 billion yuan) account for 12.55% and 12.31% of total exports, respectively, forming the three main pillars of China’s exports to the US.

China’s imports from the US, on the other hand, are primarily high-tech and resource-based products. Mechanical and electronic products ranked first, accounting for 23.17% of total imports (269.73 billion yuan), of which integrated circuits (83.877 billion yuan) and semiconductor manufacturing equipment and parts (31.946 billion yuan) were key components. This reflects that China still relies heavily on US imports in the field of high-end chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Vietnam

Vietnam’s core trading partners are primarily China, the United States, Japan, the European Union, ASEAN, and South Korea, accounting for approximately 80% of Vietnam’s total import and export trade. In terms of bilateral trade, China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner, and Vietnam is China’s largest trading partner within ASEAN.

China’s exports to Vietnam primarily include electromechanical products, machinery and equipment, fabrics, textile fibers, and other raw and auxiliary materials, while China imports primarily mineral resources and agricultural products from Vietnam.

In 2024, China-Vietnam bilateral trade reached US$260.65 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%. China’s total exports to Vietnam amounted to 1,151.99 billion yuan. With the signing and entry into force of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as well as the deepening of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the “Two Corridors and One Economic Zone,” trade cooperation between China and Vietnam has expanded extensively, and China’s role in Vietnam’s economic development has become increasingly prominent.

Japan

Japan is China’s fourth-largest trading partner, second-largest trading partner, second-largest export destination, and second-largest source of imports. China is Japan’s largest trading partner, second-largest export destination, and largest source of imports.

China’s main exports to Japan include machinery and electronics, textiles, footwear, and apparel, miscellaneous products such as furniture, toys, games, and sportswear, agricultural and sideline products, and chemicals. In 2024, China’s total exports to Japan reached 1.0816 trillion yuan.

While China holds a significant advantage in the Japanese market for labor-intensive products, such as textiles and raw materials, footwear, umbrellas, and luggage, it also faces competition from the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan Province, and Italy.

South Korea

South Korea has a trade deficit with China (exports less imports). In 2024, China exported $146.366 billion to South Korea and imported $181.717 billion from it, resulting in a trade deficit of $35.351 billion. This deficit is primarily due to South Korean investment and factory establishment in China, which in turn exports equipment and parts to Chinese factories.

South Korea is China’s fifth-largest source of trade deficit and export destination. China has been South Korea’s largest trading partner, largest export market, and largest source of imports for many years. South Korea’s top three imports from China are mechanical and electrical products, steel and metal products, and chemical products. China maintains its advantage in labor-intensive products such as textiles and raw materials, and furniture, but faces competition from countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Japan.

India

China has long been one of India’s largest trading partners. In 2024, China’s exports to India totaled 857.36 billion yuan. According to Indian agency data, China became India’s largest trading partner in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, with Sino-Indian trade reaching $118.4 billion. Both India’s exports and imports from China saw growth, with exports increasing by 8.7%.

India’s imports from China include machinery, telecommunications equipment, and electronic products, all essential for India’s growing consumer electronics industry. China’s exports to India are value-added finished products such as electronics and machinery. With the launch and advancement of regional trade arrangements or free trade negotiations between China and India, China will play a significant role in India’s infrastructure, energy, and green economy sectors.

Russia

In recent years, China and Russia have strengthened cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure, science and technology, and finance. Trade between China and Russia has continued to rise, and both countries are actively promoting economic projects within cooperation frameworks such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union. China-Russia trade reached $244.819 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%.

Of this total, China’s exports to Russia reached $115.499 billion (RMB: 821.233 billion), a 4.1% increase, while China’s imports from Russia remained flat at $129.32 billion. China’s total foreign trade reached a record high in 2024. China imports a significant amount of energy resources from Russia, such as oil and natural gas, while Russia also imports a significant amount of manufactured and consumer goods from China.

Germany

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Germany on October 11, 1972, bilateral relations have generally developed steadily. China and Germany enjoy deep cooperation and close ties in the economic and trade fields. In terms of trade in goods, according to Chinese statistics, bilateral trade volume reached US$201.88 billion in 2024. Of this, China’s exports amounted to US$107.05 billion and imports to US$94.83 billion.

In terms of two-way investment, Germany leads the EU in terms of both investment volume and number of projects invested in China, and is also a key destination for Chinese companies’ outbound investment. The Chinese and German economies have strong complementarity in markets, capital, R&D, raw materials, and industrial chains. There is enormous potential for cooperation in electronics, automotive, machinery and equipment, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, and there are broad prospects for cooperation in green transformation, trade in services, intelligent manufacturing, and digitalization.

Malaysia

Malaysia was one of the first ASEAN countries to establish diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China. In 2013, bilateral relations were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership. In 2023, the two sides reached important consensus on jointly building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, ushering in a new historical stage of development in bilateral relations. Malaysia is China’s second-largest trading partner in ASEAN and its largest source of imports.

In recent years, China-Malaysia economic and trade cooperation has rapidly grown in scale, expanded in scope, and improved in quality, demonstrating a thriving and vibrant momentum. In 2024, China’s total exports to Malaysia reached 722.013 billion yuan. China’s main imports from Malaysia include integrated circuits, computers and their components, palm oil, and plastic products, while China’s main exports to Malaysia include computers and their components, integrated circuits, clothing, and textiles.

Netherlands

The Netherlands and China established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level in 1972. The Netherlands is China’s major economic and trade partner in Europe. Today, the Netherlands is China’s second-largest trading partner within the EU, and China is the Netherlands’ largest trading partner outside the EU. Bilateral trade has remained at a high level for many years. Furthermore, the two countries have collaborated closely within various international organizations on major international issues such as climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals, and artificial intelligence.

In 2024, the total value of China’s exports to the Netherlands was US$91.209 billion, a decrease of US$8.978 billion, or 9% year-on-year, compared to 2023. China’s imports from the Netherlands were US$18.798 billion, an increase of US$1.897 billion, or 11.2% year-on-year, compared to 2023.

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Mexico

In 2024, China’s exports to Mexico totaled 641,998,290 yuan. In recent years, the Mexican market has shown a diverse and growing demand for Chinese export products. The main categories of Chinese exports to Mexico include machinery and transportation equipment, electronic and electrical products, plastics, steel products, furniture, clothing and accessories, automobiles, motorcycles, medical equipment, and toys and sporting goods.

In addition, Chinese products are highly competitive in the Mexican furniture and toy import market. In the Mexican import market for base metals and their products, plastics and rubber, China is the second-largest source of imports, after the United States.

The list of China’s top ten exporting countries is compiled through extensive analysis and compilation of rankings published by various media outlets and official websites (including the National Bureau of Statistics). This list is based on comprehensive data on China’s total merchandise exports to each country in 2024, including total value, product types, and export growth/decline rates. Due to timeliness, the data in this list may be subject to lags. For the latest information, please refer to the latest official data.

Total import and export volume of goods between China and other countries

国家名称/年份	2023年	2022年	2021年	2020年	2019年	2018年	2017年	2016年	2015年
美国	50024298	57751740	57607523	45172903	41866408	47839581	42973038	38527101	40921390
日本	15748580	17234543	16581426	14261864	14324452	14704868	13725893	12941000	13561644
韩国	14897594	16097500	14880548	11247683	11097441	10875614	10270378	9372895	10128638
越南	13760140	14387570	13789507	11381566	9786888	8387669	7161725	6110413	6601702
德国	10055977	11580468	11517540	8680817	7978909	7748934	7113440	6525905	6915483
印度	11766704	11719960	9750751	6671971	7482530	7667566	6804225	5841534	5822803
荷兰	10019418	11747074	10243171	7900633	7397880	7283469	6713167	5745937	5945338
英国	7790194	8091852	8702212	7256176	6242502	5654298	5671352	5572079	5956707
马来西亚	8736913	9171921	7865488	5630131	5214178	4537599	4171228	3767178	4398039
俄罗斯	11091316	7564105	6755117	5050447	4974849	4796527	4283060	3735577	3475688
新加坡	7690828	7942248	5510346	5762612	5479849	4903663	4501930	4451167	5194244
澳大利亚	7377839	7824815	6638009	5346848	4822955	4733006	4143823	3732740	4030651
泰国	7572519	7721773	6935458	5051424	4558484	4287872	3854173	3719508	3829080
墨西哥	8145885	7725939	6743974	4482790	4638216	4400992	3590539	3236742	3379176
印度尼西亚	6519192	7064104	6064749	4098123	4564874	4319141	3475739	3212613	3434197
菲律宾	5239638	6347102	5728534	4188171	4076385	3503664	3206593	2984267	2667079
巴西	5910157	6189417	5361123	3495378	3553906	3366487	2895054	2197927	2741223
加拿大	4507187	5326141	5151026	4209457	3693196	3515324	3137546	2733885	2942264
阿联酋	5568201	5341911	4375166	3231035	3341289	2965125	2872397	3007253	3702016
意大利	4452099	5055928	4362921	3291471	3351978	3317161	2919996	2638835	2783441
法国	4162253	4551221	4593066	3695592	3299103	3067291	2766510	2468616	2674840
西班牙	3970317	4165808	3612557	2751653	2689761	2495225	2291494	2132043	2185237
沙特阿拉伯	4285171	3772055	3032124	2809529	2387651	1742804	1837501	1865528	2161293
波兰	3716322	3792948	3657787	2673075	2388011	2087621	1787305	1510002	14315