America vs. China: Changing Germany's Foreign Trade

The German economy's dependence on China has decreased over the past year. This is shown by looking at the German trade balance with China: according to projections Germany Trade and Investment Around 51 billion euros, it was significantly lower than in 2022 (-86.1 billion euros).

Imports from China in particular have declined recently, but exports to China have also fallen slightly. If these trends continue in 2024, the US will replace China as Germany's most important foreign trading partner. Trade balance refers to the value of imports of goods minus the value of exports of goods. A positive value means a trade balance surplus and a negative value means a trade balance deficit. Germany imports more goods than it exports from China.

In this country, there has been talk of how to reduce the German economy's heavy dependence on China, starting with CASCO's planned investment in the port of Hamburg. If China escalates the conflict with Taiwan, international sanctions will be imposed against China. This will have negative consequences for the German economy.

As the graphic shows, China has long been the most important player in the Port of Hamburg. China's share of container production there is about 30 percent. The US, Singapore and Russia are lagging behind. Measured in containers, 2.56 million standard containers were handled to and from China at the Port of Hamburg last year.