BERLIN: China has surpassed the United States to become Germany’s top trading partner in 2016. The US dropped down from the top position in 2015 to become Germany’s third largest trading partner last year, Deutsche Welle reported, citing data from the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).
France continued to hold the position as Germany’s second largest trading partner. DIHK’s foreign business chief Volker Treier said the volume of goods exported to China from Germany grew rapidly in the latter part of 2016.
The total foreign trade volume between China and Germany reached about US$145.3 billion in 2016, up 2.6 percent from the previous year, according to statistics released by China’s General Administration of Customs.