Germany’s trade with China drops by 10.5% YoY in Q1 2023, valued at 64.7 billion euros

German trade with China in the first quarter of 2023 declined by 10.5% compared to the same period last year, according to a press release by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Despite this, China remained Germany’s most important trading partner, with a trade volume of 64.7 billion euros. Motor vehicle exports to China also decreased significantly by 23.9% from the same quarter a year earlier. The United States, on the other hand, closed the gap with China as the difference in trade volume between the two countries decreased considerably. The value of goods traded with the US totaled 64.1 billion euros, compared to 54.6 billion euros in the first quarter of 2022. However, 91.8% of rare-earth metal imports, as well as a significant proportion of smartphones, lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, and electric cars, still came from China.