Trade in integrated circuits is worth almost $1 trillion annually. This includes processers, controllers, memory chips and the like, which form the centrepiece of most things we use or drive. Machinery and related parts, accessories and tools for producing semiconductors are worth another $100 billion per year. The value of semiconductor and machinery trade is higher than it was in 2018, but trade patterns are changing significantly with new production capacity being established around the world and not just in China and the United States.
Posts tagged as “China”
India is now the world’s most populous country, but the Chinese economy is six times larger. However, with Indian economic and manufacturing growth expected to outperform in the near term there are opportunities for growth increased growth in trade. India could also benefit from a US and European pivot away from China and a friendly investment regime. Exports in 2022 grew by almost 10% and imports by 17%. Particularly the import performance of industrial equipment, parts and supplies is an indicator of future increases in manufacturing output and exports.
Papua New Guinea is the largest economy in the Pacific Islands, accounting for 45 % of the region’s overall economic output, and as much as New Caledonia, Guam, French Polynesia and Fiji combined. Over 90% of exports are linked to energy and mining industries, but imports are more diverse. With a strong link to Australia, the economy is less dependent on Chinese imports than others in the region. Contrary to other islands in the region this has also not changed. However, the status quo should not be taken for granted as we are beginning to identify an emerging shift, with Chinese export value to Papua New Guinea outperforming other major trading partners.
China is by far Australia’s most important trading partner. Dependence on China has increased and not decreased. Australia draws around 30% of its imports from China, up from about 21% in 2013. On the export side, China’s share of the value of Australian exports has fluctuated between 34% to 44% over the last 10 years. Most of that is driven by iron ore exports. This article looks at the trading relationship and mutual dependence between Australia and China.
Dependence entails risk. Reliance on a single supplier or source for imports of a certain raw material or intermediate product makes supply chains vulnerable to disruptions and geopolitical tensions. About 12% of world trade is in product groups where a single country has a share of more than 50% of exports of that product. In about half of all cases, China is the dominant exporter, but not everywhere. This article looks at which countries dominate exports for certain raw materials, intermediate and finished goods.
With shipments of Australian coal to China starting again after a two-year de-facto import ban, this article focuses on the trends and outlook relating to international coal flows. Japan, China, India and South Korea collectively account for over half of worldwide coal imports, while Australia, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and the United States account for three quarters of worldwide coal exports. In the last two years Australia has largely been able compensate for the loss of the Chinese market, which accounted for 26% of total coal exports in 2019. Changes in demand and production patterns are likely to affect overall flows as well as market shares between countries.
COVID-19 vaccine production has led to significant additional temporary global vaccine traffic. However, with countries such as Brazil, China or India growing their manufacturing base this could create new regular cross border flows. This article looks at global vaccine production and cross border vaccine flows in and out of China, India, the United States and the European Union, as well as emerging flows out of countries such as Brazil and Russia.
The value of Chinese exports increased by 7% in 2022, while imports grew only 2.5%. This follows growth of 30% in 2021. These numbers hide some very uneven performance on a province and trading partner level, which reflect changing Chinese trading patterns with key partners such as the US, but also economic weakness in Europe.
The overall expectation for trade in most large economies – the US, the European Union, Japan and even China - is for little growth or even declining volumes. The next year is likely to look very different to last year and the next three years very different to the last three years. Southeast Asia and South Asia are expected to show much stronger performance than Northeast Asia. This article discusses 2022 and 2023 import and export performance across Northeast, Southeast and South Asia.
China accounts for almost a quarter of the value of worldwide imports of manufactured goods. That is significantly more than any other country. Germany, by contrast, accounts for about 8%, the US 7% and Japan about 5%. The European Union and the United Kingdom account for about the same amount as China, but almost two thirds of this trade is between countries within the bloc. While China’s weight in the world economy has increased, this increase has been uneven and the dependence on China varies significantly across economies.