China overtakes US to become Germany's top trading partner

DW News · Feb 20, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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China has overtaken the US as Germany's most important trading partner, according to figures released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday. The sum of exports and imports between the two countries last year totalled €251.8 billion (roughly $296.6 billion), a 2.1% increase, according to Destatis. China was Germany's most important trading partner from 2016 all the way through to 2023. In 2024, the US briefly held the title. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also set to visit China next week, where he is set to discuss trade and other topics. China: Germany's rival and partnerTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video China replaces US as Germany's top trading partner Germany last year imported goods worth €170.6 billion from China, an 8.8% increase from the year earlier. Chinese imports to Germany were mainly data processing equipment, electrical equipment and machinery. Meanwhile, German exports to China last year totaled €81.3 billion, down 9.7% from the year earlier. The US was Germany's next top business partner last year, with a foreign trade turnover of €240.5 billion, a 5% drop from the year before. German exports to the US fell last year, after US President Donald Trump introduced tariffs on imported goods from many countries, including Germany. German companies sold goods worth €146.2 billion to the US last year, a 9.4% drop from the 12 months earlier. Among the most affected sectors were cars and car parts, with losses of 17.8%. Edited by: Roshni Majumdar