Share of imports in gross domestic product (GDP) in China 2000-2023

China's share of imports in gross domestic product (GDP) was about 14.3 percent in 2023. The total gross domestic product amounted to approximately 126 trillion yuan that year.

Import development in China

Trade is essential to modern economies. The imports-to-GDP ratio measures a country’s openness to inward trade. One similar indicator is the trade-to-GDP-ratio, which is the sum of exports and imports divided by GDP. It is used to measure a country’s integration in the world economy.

As of 2022, China was the second largest merchandise importing nation worldwide, representing 10.6 percent of all global imports of goods. China’s imports of goods had nearly doubled over the last decade. In 2010, the import value stood at around 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars, whereas in 2022, China brought forth approximately 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars worth of imported commodities, its main import goods being integrated circuits, crude oil, and iron ore. Meanwhile, the monetary value of services imported to China, although much lower than merchandise imports, also soared from around 192 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 to 461 billion dollars in 2022.

Where does China import from?

In 2023, ASEAN was the leading import partner for China, with imports amounting to approximately 2.73 trillion yuan. The European Union was the second largest import source providing nearly two trillion yuan worth of goods to China. In 2022, the European Union imported around 626 billion euros worth of merchandise from China, resulting in a trade deficit of roughly 366 billion euros. Trade deficits were most significant in sectors such as machinery, transport equipment and apparel manufacturing.