China has now surpassed the US as the number one trading partner of the EU. Eurostats reports that in 2020, the EU’s trade volume with China was 586 billion euros, compared to 555 billion euros for the US. The EU’s imports from China increased by 5.6 percent while exports to China rose by 2.2 percent. EU trade with the US in 2020 recorded a significant drop in both imports (-13.2%) and exports (-8.2%).
Global Times adds that a record 12,400 China-Europe freight train trips were made in 2020, up 50 percent from the previous year, according to China’s railway operator. Much of that trade comprised medical supplies to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
