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China surpasses US as world's largest trading nation
[THEGUARDIAN] China became the world's largest trading nation in 2013, overtaking the US in what Beijing described as "a landmark milestone" for the country.China's annual trade in goods passed the $4tn (£2.4tn) mark for the first time last year according to official data, after exports from the world's second largest economy rose 7.9% to $2.21tn and imports rose 7.3% to $1.95tn. As a result total trade rose 7.6% over the year to $4.16tn. The US is yet to publish its 2013 trade figures, but with trade totalling $3.5tn in the first 11 months of the year, it is unlikely to beat China. The shift in the trading pecking order reflected China's rising global dominance, despite a slowdown in economic growth last year. Zheng Yuesheng, a front man for China's customs administration, said: "It is very likely that China overtook the US to become the world's largest trading country in goods in 2013 for the first time. This is a landmark milestone for our nation's foreign trade development." China had already become the world's largest exporter of goods in 2009. The country's trade surplus rose 12.8% in 2013 to almost $260bn, but the December surplus of $25.6bn was down 17.4% and fell short of the $31.15bn predicted by economists in a Rooters poll. Posted by: Fred 2014-01-12 |
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