BRIC Team reports: Currently, 145 economies trade more with China than with the US.[Al Jazeera]Who is the larger exporter?In 2024, China sold $3.59 trillion in goods and bought $2.58 trillion, producing a trade surplus of more than $1 trillion – the largest of any country.China’s main exports include: Advertisement Machinery and electrical machines ($1.68 trillion), such as phones and computers, accounting for nearly one-third of total exports. The US is the second-largest exporter in the world. In 2024, it sold $1.9 trillion worth of goods globally and bought $3.12 trillion, creating a large trade deficit.
US President Donald Trump used the that trade deficit as justification for the trade tariffs he imposed on countries globally since returning to the White House in January last year.The US’s main exports include: Machinery and electrical machines ($447bn). Mineral products including fuels, oils, waxes and their derivatives ($364bn), accounting for nearly one-fifth of total exports. Chemical products ($245bn).
Background
What do the US and China buy from each other?The US and China are significant trading partners, exchanging more than $500bn worth of goods in 2025, though trade has since fallen as the two countries exchanged retaliatory tariffs from the beginning of Trump’s second term.As it stands, the average effective US tariff on imports from China is about 31.6 percent, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Meanwhile, China has imposed a series of tariffs on key US energy and agricultural exports, including a blanket 10 percent levy on all US imports, with surcharges on specific items. These range from 11 percent on propane and ethane to 77 percent on beef, according to the news agency Reuters.Despite this, the US remains China’s largest trading partner, while China ranks third for the US, behind Mexico and Canada.In 2024, the US bought $453bn worth of goods from China.
Key facts
- The US is the second-largest exporter in the world.
- In 2024, it sold $1.9 trillion worth of goods globally and bought $3.12 trillion, creating a large trade deficit.
- Mineral products including fuels, oils, waxes and their derivatives ($364bn), accounting for nearly one-fifth of total exports.
What this means
The main goods include: Machinery and electrical machines ($212bn) Miscellaneous items such as toys, bedding and furniture ($57.9bn) Textiles ($31.9bn) That same year, China bought $145bn worth of goods from the US, with the main goods including: Machinery and electrical machines ($30.8bn) Mineral products including fuels, oils, waxes and their derivatives ($24.1bn) Chemical products ($18.2bn) Who has more debt?The US and China both carry significant debt, with US general government debt standing at 115 percent of GDP, while China’s stands at 94 percent of GDP. However, it is important to note that China’s debt is believed to be underestimated.The 2008 global financial crisis was a turning point for the US, when debt surged sharply as the government bailed out banks and provided economic stimulus.China’s debt has also grown, but more steadily, from about 22 percent of GDP in 2000 to about 34 percent in 2009, after which it began to incline even more steeply, mainly driven by infrastructure investment and local government borrowing, as opposed to crisis spending like the US.
Advertisement Both countries saw their debt levels surge dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, as governments unleashed massive stimulus programmes to prop up their economies. The US allowed trillions of dollars in relief spending in the form of business loans and unemployment benefits, while China increased its infrastructure investments.The US national debt now exceeds $39 trillion, which is the highest level in history, while the exact level of China’s government debt is more difficult to establish. Who spends more on their military?The US is the world’s biggest military spender, outpacing China by almost three times in dollar terms.
