China overtakes US as Germany’s top trading partner

Reuters :

China has overtaken the United States as Germany’s largest trading partner during the first eight months of 2025, according to preliminary data from Germany’s statistics office.

Trade between Germany and China totalled $190.7 billion (163.4 billion euros) from January to August, slightly higher than Germany’s trade with the US, which stood at $189 billion (162.8 billion euros), Reuters calculations showed.

The US had been Germany’s top trading partner in 2024, ending an eight-year streak for China. But trade patterns have shifted again this year, largely due to US President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff campaign, which has hurt German exports to the American market.
German exports to the US fell 7.4pc in the first eight months of 2025 compared with a year earlier, and dropped 23.5pc year-on-year in August alone.

“There is no question that US tariff and trade policy is an important reason for the decline in sales,” said Dirk Jandura, president of Germany’s BGA foreign trade association.
Exports to China also dropped sharply – down 13.5pc year-on-year to $63.5 billion (54.7 billion euros) but imports from China surged 8.3pc to $126.4 billion (108.8 billion euros).

“The renewed import boom from China is worrying, particularly as these imports come at dumping prices,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, warning that it increases Germany’s dependence on China.

Economist Salomon Fiedler of Berenberg Bank added that with weak domestic growth, “any shifts on world markets are now troubling for Germany.”