China is the EU's main trading partner

For the whole of 2020, the EU trade with China amounted to 586 billion dollars (if exports and imports are added) compared to 555 billion for the USA, according to data released today by Eurostat.

"In 2020, China was the EU's main partner," Eurostat said in a statement. Although the EU has been China's main trading partner since 2004 - having overtaken Japan at the time - it is the first time the opposite has happened, with China dethroning the United States from Europe.

According to Eurostat, the result is due to an increase in European imports from China (+ 5.6% in 2020 compared to 2019) as well as European exports to the Asian country (+ 2.2%).

At the same time, trade with the US recorded a significant decrease in terms of imports (-13.2%) and exports (-8.2%). After being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in the first quarter, the Chinese economy accelerated again and consumption at the end of the year even exceeded the level it was a year ago, boosting European sales, mainly in the automotive and luxury products.

China's exports to Europe have benefited from strong demand for medical equipment and electronics. The EU has seen its trade deficit worsen with China. It went from -164.7 billion euros in 2019 to -181 billion last year. At the same time, the surplus with the US remained stable at around 151 billion euros.

The UK, which is no longer an EU member, is now the third largest trading partner, behind China and the US.

However, European exports to the country fell by 13.2% last year and imports by 13.9%. Overall, the EU recorded an increase in its trade surplus in 2020 compared to the rest of the world to 217.3 billion euros compared to 191.5 billion in 2019.

The amount is even higher for the 19 eurozone countries: a surplus of 234.5 billion euros last year compared to 221 billion a year earlier.