omnipresent in political discourses, decoupling of economies remains strangely absent from statistics. In July, China even has for the first time in its history recorded a trade surplus greater than $ 100 billion (97 billion euros): exactly 101.3 billion. A spectacular monthly result that is not accidental: out of the first seven months of the year, the surplus amounted to more than $ 492 billion. The 313 billion recorded over the same period in 2021 already appear far away. However, they too constituted a record at the time. Except collapse of global demand by December, China should therefore experience in 2022 a new historic trade surplus.
Who buys China? Everyone, the United States in mind, followed by Europeans and Asians. Four years after the start of the trade war launched by Donald Trump and continued more or less by Joe Biden, the American deficit towards China remains abyssal ($ 244 billion over seven months). In 2022, the United States sold less property to the Chinese than the European Union, South Korea, Japan… and even Taiwan. Qualified as “historic deal” by Trump, the compromise concluded between Beijing and Washington in January 2020 according to which China was to buy an additional $ 200 billion of American goods will remain in history as the very example of the trade agreement which ‘has never been respected.
Even if it goes upmarket, China is therefore the workshop of the world. Is this good news for Beijing? Only part only. Admittedly, being the first economic partner of around 120 countries in the world grants him a privileged status. After interrogating experts from Bangladesh, Chile, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the German Institute Mérics observes a general trend in these countries to lean towards States -Unis to ensure their safety but rather to China for their economy. “All the countries examined here refuse to take sides. Their governments hope to continue to seize opportunities born of this Sino-American rivalry”, writes MERICS in A note published in August .
Household consumption down 2>
But this dependence is two -way. If exports remain the main engine of the Chinese economy, it is both because its industry has emerged from the crisis due to the COVVI-19 and has taken market share to its competitors, but it is also Because Chinese household consumption continues to drop. Thanks to export, China is enriched, but the more Chinese. Faintness. Imports of electrical or electronic goods decrease. Young unemployment is at the highest: it affects 18.4 % of 16-24 year olds.
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