China has experienced interrupted merchandise trade surpluses since 1993. Total trade multiplied by nearly 100 to USD 4.2 trillion in only three decades and, in 2013, China surpassed the United States as the world’s biggest trading nation.
The opening of the country and the government’s massive investment programs have prompted the country to become a major manufacturing hub. This situation fostered trade growth in the last decades, particularly after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. As an economy highly integrated into the global trade system, the country benefited from a steady improvement in its terms of trade since 2000. However, the global economic downturn in 2008-2009 led the country to reduce manufacturing output, thus putting a drag on China’s trading sector.
Moreover, the country has engaged in several bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that have opened new markets for its products. In 2003, China signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement with Hong Kong and Macau. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and the ASEAN nations came into effect on January 2010, which created the world’s third largest free trade area in terms of nominal GDP. China also established, among others, FTA with countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, Pakistan, Peru, New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore. Moreover, there are other FTA under negotiation with Australia, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Japan, Korea and Norway.
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