page_title: Economy of China
section_title: External trade
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of China / External trade
caption_attribution_description: English: China-made cars on a car dealer's lot in Nizhny Novgorod's Kanavinsky District Русский: Продажа китайских автомобилей в Канавинском районе
context_page_description: The economy of China has transitioned from a centrally-planned system to a more market-oriented economy since 1978 or earlier, which as of 2019 ranked as the second largest in the world by nominal GDP and as of 2017 the largest in the world by purchasing power parity. China has the world's fastest-growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10% over 30 years. As of 2018, China's private sector accounted between 70% and 80% of the GDP; the private sector is also responsible for 80% of urban employment and 90% of new jobs. According to the IMF, on a per capita income basis, China ranked 73rd by GDP per capita in 2019. China's GDP was $14.3 trillion in 2019. The country has natural resources with an estimated worth of $23 trillion, 90% of which are coal and rare earth metals. China also has the world's largest total banking sector assets of around $40 trillion with $27.39 trillion in total deposits. It has the fourth-largest inward foreign direct investment, and the eleventh-largest outward foreign direct investment. China has the world's second-highest number of billionaires with total wealth of $996 billion.
context_section_description: International trade makes up a sizeable portion of China's overall economy. Being a Second World country at the time, a meaningful segment of China's trade with the Third World was financed through grants, credits, and other forms of assistance. The principal efforts were made in Asia, especially to Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, but large loans were also granted in Africa (Ghana, Algeria, Tanzania) and in the Middle East (Egypt). However, after Mao Zedong's death in 1976, these efforts were scaled back. After which, trade with developing countries became negligible, though during that time, Hong Kong and Taiwan both began to emerge as major trading partners.
  Since economic reforms began in the late 1970s, China sought to decentralize its foreign trade system to integrate itself into the international trading system. In November 1991, China joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, which promotes free trade and cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, and technology spheres. China served as APEC chair in 2001, and Shanghai hosted the annual APEC leaders meeting in October of that year.
  After reaching a bilateral WTO agreement with the EU and other trading partners in summer 2000, China worked on a multilateral WTO accession package. China concluded multilateral negotiations on its accession to the WTO in September 2001. The completion of its accession protocol and Working Party Report paved the way for its entry into the WTO on 11 December 2001, after 16 years of negotiations, the longest in the history of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. However, U.S. exporters continue to have concerns about fair market access due to China's restrictive trade policies and U.S. export restrictions. In October 2019, Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng promised to further decrease tariffs and remove non-tariff barriers for global investors, he also welcomed multinational companies to invest more in China.
  China's global trade exceeded $4.16 trillion at the end of 2013. It first broke the $100 billion mark in 1988, $200 billion in 1994, $500 billion in 2001, $1 trillion mark ($1.15 trillion) in 2004,$2 trillion mark ($2.17 trillion) in 2007,$3 trillion mark ($3.64 trillion) in 2011, and $4 trillion mark ($4.16 trillion) in 2013. The table below shows the average annual growth (in nominal US dollar terms) of China's foreign trade during the reform era.
  The vast majority of China's imports consists of industrial supplies and capital goods, notably machinery and high-technology equipment, the majority of which comes from the developed countries, primarily Japan and the United States. Regionally, almost half of China's imports come from East and Southeast Asia, and about one-fourth of China's exports go to the same destinations. About 80 percent of China's exports consist of manufactured goods, most of which are textiles and electronic equipment, with agricultural products and chemicals constituting the remainder. Out of the five busiest ports in the world, three are in China. The U.S. trade deficit with China reached $233 billion in 2006, as imports grew 18%. China's share of total U.S. imports has grown from 7% to 15% since 1996.
  Trade volume between China and Russia reached $29.1 billion in 2005, an increase of 37.1% compared with 2004. A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, Van Jingsun, said that the volume of trade between China and Russia could exceed 40 billion dollars in 2007. China's export of machinery and electronic goods to Russia grew 70%, which is 24% of China's total export to Russia in the first 11 months of 2005. During the same time, China's export of high-tech products to Russia increased by 58%, and that is 7% of China's total exports to Russia. Also at that time period, border trade between the two countries reached $5.13 billion, growing 35% and accounting for nearly 20% of the total trade. Most of China's exports to Russia remain apparel and footwear. Russia is China's eighth largest trade partner and China is now Russia's fourth largest trade partner, and China now has over
caption: Chinese cars at a dealer's lot in Nizhny Novgorod, the traditional capital of the Russian automotive industry
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