US-China Trade Shrinks by 17.4% in January-February, Barely Surpassing $100 bln

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China-US trade experienced a 17.4% reduction to $101.84 billion in the first two months of 2023, according to data provided by the Chinese General Administration of Customs, as reported on Tuesday.

Despite the downturn in trade, the United States remained in the top three of China's leading trading partners, along with ASEAN and the European Union.

Based on the information provided, US-bound exports from China in January-February sank 21.8% year-on-year and amounted to $71.56 billion, while the United States exported goods to China to the tune of $30.27 billion, which is 5% less than in the same period last year.

In contrast, trade between Russia and China saw a 25.9% surge to $33.685 billion in the first two months of 2023.

During the said period, China exported $15.03 billion worth of goods to Russia, which turned out to be 19.8% higher than for the same period in 2022. China-bound exports from Russia jumped 31.3% to $18.6 billion. In 2022, trade between both countries climbed 29.3% to a record $190.27 billion.

Trade between China and Russia has soared over the past year as Moscow embarked on its economic policy of pivoting to the East. In January 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian economy proved to be far more resilient than Western governments believed. He stressed that Moscow expects a record foreign trade surplus "not only due to changes in commodity prices, but also Russia's trade reorientation with the countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America."

In the meanwhile, US-China trade is being impacted by global economic rivalry between both nations. The White House’s national security strategy adopted in Fall 2022 views China as the “most consequential geopolitical challenge” to the United States.