Mapped: Where China Out-Trades the U.S. and EU (2000 vs. 2025)

Does Each Country Trade More With the U.S., EU, or China?

In 2000, China outranked the U.S. and EU as a trade partner for just 10 economies. By 2025, it held that spot for more than half of the world.

This graphic compares which of the United States, European Union, or China each country traded with most in 2000 and 2025, using bilateral goods data from the International Monetary Fund and UN Comtrade.

Total trade is the sum of goods imports and exports. Services are excluded, and the comparison is limited to these three powers, so a country colored red trades more with China than with the U.S. or the EU, not necessarily more than with anyone else.

China Is Now the Leading Trade Partner for Most Economies

In 2000, the EU was the largest of the three partners for 112 of 175 economies, while the U.S. led for 53 and China for just 10.

By 2025, China led for 92 countries and territories, followed by the EU with 55 and the U.S. with 32.

The table below shows which of the three was each country or territory’s largest goods-trade partner in 2000 and 2025. Blank 2000 cells indicate no available data for that country at that point in time:

Country or Territory	Largest Trading Partner Among the U.S., EU, and China
	2000	2025
Afghanistan	European Union	China
Albania	European Union	European Union
Algeria	European Union	European Union
Angola	United States	China
Anguilla	United States	United States
Antigua and Barbuda	European Union	United States
Argentina	European Union	China
Armenia	European Union	China
Aruba	United States	United States
Australia	European Union	China
Azerbaijan	European Union	European Union
Bahamas	United States	United States
Bahrain	European Union	European Union
Bangladesh	European Union	European Union
Barbados	United States	United States
Belarus	European Union	China
Belize	United States	United States
Benin	European Union	European Union
Bermuda	European Union	United States
Bhutan	European Union	China
Bolivia	United States	China
Bosnia and Herzegovina	European Union	European Union
Botswana	European Union	China
Brazil	European Union	China
Brunei	United States	China
Burkina Faso	European Union	China
Burundi	European Union	China
Cabo Verde	European Union	European Union
Cambodia	United States	China
Cameroon	European Union	European Union
Canada	United States	United States
Central African Republic	European Union	China
Chad	European Union	European Union
Chile	European Union	China
Colombia	United States	United States
Comoros	European Union	European Union
Costa Rica	United States	United States
Cuba	European Union	China
Curaçao		United States
Côte d'Ivoire	European Union	European Union
DR Congo	European Union	China
Djibouti	European Union	China
Dominica	United States	United States
Dominican Republic	United States	United States
Ecuador	United States	China
Egypt	European Union	European Union
El Salvador	United States	United States
Equatorial Guinea	European Union	European Union
Eritrea	European Union	China
Eswatini	European Union	China
Ethiopia	European Union	China
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	European Union	European Union
Faroe Islands	European Union	European Union
Fiji	United States	China
French Guiana	European Union	European Union
French Polynesia	European Union	European Union
Gabon	United States	China
Gambia	European Union	European Union
Georgia	European Union	European Union
Ghana	European Union	European Union
Gibraltar	European Union	European Union
Greenland	European Union	European Union
Grenada	United States	United States
Guatemala	United States	United States
Guinea	European Union	China
Guinea-Bissau	European Union	European Union
Guyana	United States	United States
Haiti	United States	United States
Honduras	United States	United States
Hong Kong	China	China
Iceland	European Union	European Union
India	European Union	China
Indonesia	European Union	China
Iran	European Union	China
Iraq	European Union	China
Israel	European Union	European Union
Jamaica	United States	United States
Japan	United States	China
Jordan	European Union	China
Kazakhstan	European Union	European Union
Kenya	European Union	China
Kiribati	China	China
North Korea	China	China
South Korea	United States	China
Kosovo	European Union	European Union
Kuwait	European Union	China
Kyrgyzstan	European Union	China
Laos	European Union	China
Lebanon	European Union	European Union
Lesotho	United States	European Union
Liberia	European Union	China
Libya	European Union	European Union
Macao	United States	China
Madagascar	European Union	China
Malawi	European Union	China
Malaysia	United States	China
Maldives	United States	China
Mali	European Union	China
Marshall Islands		China
Mauritania	European Union	European Union
Mauritius	European Union	European Union
Mexico	United States	United States
Micronesia	United States	United States
Moldova	European Union	European Union
Mongolia	China	China
Montenegro	European Union	European Union
Montserrat	United States	United States
Morocco	European Union	European Union
Mozambique	European Union	China
Myanmar	China	China
Namibia	European Union	China
Nauru	United States	China
Nepal	United States	China
New Caledonia	European Union	European Union
New Zealand	European Union	China
Nicaragua	United States	United States
Niger	European Union	European Union
Nigeria	United States	European Union
North Macedonia	European Union	European Union
Norway	European Union	European Union
Oman	China	China
Pakistan	European Union	China
Palau	United States	European Union
Panama	United States	United States
Papua New Guinea	European Union	China
Paraguay	United States	China
Peru	United States	China
Philippines	United States	China
Qatar	European Union	China
Republic of Congo	European Union	China
Russia	European Union	China
Rwanda	European Union	China
Samoa	United States	China
San Marino		European Union
Saudi Arabia	European Union	China
Senegal	European Union	European Union
Serbia	European Union	European Union
Seychelles	European Union	European Union
Sierra Leone	European Union	China
Singapore	United States	China
Sint Maarten		United States
Solomon Islands	China	China
Somalia	European Union	China
South Africa	European Union	European Union
South Sudan	China	China
Sri Lanka	European Union	China
St. Kitts and Nevis	United States	United States
St. Lucia	United States	United States
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	United States	United States
Sudan	China	China
Suriname	European Union	United States
Switzerland	European Union	European Union
Syria	European Union	China
São Tomé and Príncipe	European Union	European Union
Taiwan	United States	China
Tajikistan	European Union	China
Tanzania	European Union	China
Thailand	United States	China
Timor-Leste	United States	China
Togo	European Union	European Union
Tonga	United States	China
Trinidad and Tobago	United States	United States
Tunisia	European Union	European Union
Turkmenistan	European Union	China
Tuvalu	European Union	United States
Türkiye	European Union	European Union
Uganda	European Union	China
Ukraine	European Union	European Union
United Arab Emirates	European Union	China
United Kingdom	European Union	European Union
Uruguay	European Union	China
Uzbekistan	European Union	China
Vanuatu	European Union	China
Venezuela	United States	China
Vietnam	European Union	China
West Bank and Gaza	European Union	European Union
Yemen	China	China
Zambia	European Union	China
Zimbabwe	European Union	China

Of the 175 economies with data for both years, 88 changed leaders, and 81 of those moved to China: 57 from the EU and 24 from the U.S.

The most striking flips to China came among U.S. partners in Asia, with proximity and cheaper goods being the driving factors. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia all traded most with the U.S. in 2000, while Australia and New Zealand moved over from the EU.

China also displaced the West across the Gulf and South America. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait moved from the EU as Asian demand for their oil grew. Russia made the same switch, a shift that accelerated after Western sanctions in 2022 redirected its fuel exports east.

The Western powers still hold their home regions. The U.S. leads for Canada, Mexico, Central America, and nearly every Caribbean economy, while the EU leads across most of non-member Europe and much of North and West Africa.

China Has Overtaken the U.S. and EU in Global Goods Trade

The global shift towards China follows the country’s exponential growth in goods trade over the 25 years. In 2000, its goods trade totaled $0.47 trillion, less than a quarter of the U.S. total. By 2025, it reached $6.4 trillion.

The table below shows the total goods trade of China, the EU, and the U.S. in 2000 and 2025, along with the change in percent and in dollars. EU figures exclude trade among its own members:

Economy	Total Goods Trade (USD, Trillions)		Change (2000–2025)
	2000	2025	Percent	USD, Trillions
China	0.47	6.4	1,262	5.9
EU	1.7	5.8	241	4.1
U.S.	2.0	5.7	185	3.7

China’s goods trade grew nearly 14-fold over the period, far faster than the EU’s (3.4 times) or the U.S.’s (2.9 times).

A turning point came in December 2001, when China joined the WTO. Membership guaranteed its exports permanent low-tariff access to markets around the world, including the U.S., which until then had reviewed China’s trade status every year.

The balance of that trade diverged too. China’s exports and imports were nearly even in 2000, but by 2025 it ran a surplus of about $1.2 trillion, while the U.S. ran a deficit of about $1.3 trillion. The EU’s trade stayed close to balanced.

That export surge helps explain why so many countries now count China as their biggest import partner. The U.S. and EU still anchor their own regions, but for most of the rest of the world, China has become the leading partner.

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