📈 Global Trade Dominance: EU vs. China in 2000 & 2024

From 2000 to 2024, total goods trade (exports + imports) grew from $1.69 trillion to $5.43 trillion for the EU (4.1% CAGR) and from $474 billion to $6.16 trillion for China (11.3% CAGR). By 2024, China's total trade volume exceeded the EU’s by 14%, with exports 28% higher, while imports were nearly identical. As a result, China’s trade surplus was 510% larger than the EU’s. Trade as a share of GDP in 2024 stood at 33% for China and 28% for the EU.

In 2020, the EU was the larger trade partner for most countries worldwide, except Oman, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, and Yemen. However, by 2024, China had become the dominant trade partner for nearly all of Asia and the Middle East, about half of Africa, most of the Americas (excluding the U.S., Argentina, and a few small economies), as well as Russia and Oceania.

Looking ahead, the EU remains the most important trade partner for the U.S. and North Africa, while China continues to expand its influence across emerging markets—importing fuels, minerals, and agricultural goods while exporting manufactured products.