Germany's trade gap with China grew in the first half of the year, even as the Asian powerhouse kept the position of its top trade partner, preliminary data from state-run agency Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) showed on Sunday.
German exports to China fell over 12% year-over-year to just under 37 billion euros ($42.8 billion) between January and June, the data showed, as Chinese firms cut reliance on European imports, making China only the ninth-biggest market for German goods.
As recently as 2021, China was the second-biggest export market.
That year, Germany sold China merchandise worth 104 billion euros, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, German manufacturing is struggling with both U.S. tariffs and Chinese competition, triggering major job cuts at bulwarks of industry such as carmaker Volkswagen.
China, though, is selling more and more to Germany.
