In response, China announced retaliatory measures including tariffs on select U.S. goods, export controls on critical minerals, a WTO lawsuit against the U.S., and an investigation into Google.
Some Chinese industries will be more affected than others. This graphic visualizes China’s total exports to the U.S., the share of China’s exports that go to the U.S., and China’s total exports excluding the U.S. in billions of USD.
The data sourced from UN Comtrade, China Custom, USITC via KKR as of Dec. 31, 2023.
How Dependent is China on U.S. Trade?
Below, we show the value of China’s exports (U.S. and non-U.S.) and the share that the U.S. makes up of China’s exports.
| Sector | China Total Exports (excl. U.S.) | China Exports to the U.S., 2023 ($B) | U.S. % of China Exports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Electronics | 339 | 96 | 22% |
| Home Appliance | 100 | 24 | 19% |
| Textiles and Clothing | 336 | 68 | 17% |
| Optical/Medical Instruments | 57 | 12 | 17% |
| Wood, Wood Product and Paper | 42 | 9 | 17% |
| Construction/Traditional Machinery | 227 | 33 | 13% |
| Electrical Equipment (excl. Semiconductor) | 202 | 30 | 13% |
| Clean Energy & Batteries | 103 | 15 | 13% |
| Chemicals | 320 | 42 | 12% |
| Base Metals | 240 | 28 | 11% |
| Agriculture Product, Food and Beverage | 87 | 10 | 10% |
| Transportation Equipment | 241 | 24 | 9% |
| Stone, Glass and Precious Stones | 28 | 3 | 9% |
| Semiconductor | 192 | 9 | 4% |
| Mineral Products | 67 | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 298 | 97 | 25% |
| Total | 2,879 | 501 | 15% |
For decades, the United States has remained China’s dominant export destination, importing more Chinese goods than any other country in the world
In 2023, China’s global exports reached $3.4 trillion, with the United States receiving $502 billion—or 14.8%—of that total. This share significantly exceeded that of the second-largest recipient, Hong Kong, which accounted for 8.2% of China’s exports
Consumer electronics represents China’s highest U.S. export dependency at 22% of its exports. Among all sectors, it also shows the smallest gap between U.S. and non-U.S. exports, with non-U.S. exports ($339 billion) only 3.5 times larger than U.S. exports ($96 billion).
Despite trade tensions, China maintains substantial export relationships with the U.S. across traditional manufacturing sectors, with home appliances (19%), textiles (17%), and optical/medical instruments (17%) showing notable U.S. market share.
In December 2024, China’s total exports to the U.S. reached $48.83 billion, up from $47.31 billion in November 2024, likely driven by businesses rushing to ship goods before the anticipated tariffs increase costs.
Credit: Visual Capitalist
