The US is losing importance as a trading partner of China as their tariff war drags on, dropping a notch to third place in the first half of 2019 to trail the European Union and Southeast Asia.
Sino-American trade in goods declined 14 per cent on the year to $258.3bn, according to statistics from Chinese customs authorities. In exports, the US sustained a much harder blow.
Agricultural and energy products easily sourced from elsewhere account for much of the Chinese imports from the US. But big Chinese exports like computers, mobile phones and other electronics have supply chains that take more time to rearrange. While Chinese exports to the US fell eight per cent to $199.4bn, American exports to China plunged 30 per cent to $58.9bn.