by Giorgio Leali
China was the EU’s main trade partner in 2020, taking the top spot occupied until last year by the United States.
During global trade’s annus horribilis, heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, EU-China trade grew while imports and exports to the United States dramatically dropped compared with 2019, according to data by the EU’s statistics office Eurostat published Monday.
In 2020, exports of EU goods to China increased by 2.2 percent and imports went up 5.6 percent, while EU trade with the rest of the world dramatically dropped (down 9.4 percent in term of exports, and down 11.6 percent in terms imports compared with 2019). The pandemic severely hit transatlantic trade, with exports of European goods to the U.S. falling by 8.2 percent year-on-year. Imports fell 13.2 percent.
As a result, the U.S. is no longer the bloc’s top commercial partner and has been replaced by China. EU exports to China in 2020 amounted to €202.5 billion while imports reached €383.5 billion.
This new data come as Brussels is trying to intensify its economic ties with Beijing by…