Japan had remained as China's biggest trade partner for ten successive years, being at the same time China's third biggest export market and biggest import source.

In 2002 the total volume of China-Japan trade grow 16.2 percent over the previous year, accounting for 16.4 percent of China's foreign trade total of the year, according to customs statistics.

China's export worth to Japan registered at 48.44 billion US dollars, up 7.8 percent; imported from Japan 53.47 billion US dollars, up 25 percent. China's trade to Japan turned from a surplus in the first half of the year into a deficit, with a deficit volume standing at 5.03 billion US dollars.

In the past year China's second, third trade partners were the United States and European Union, with which China achieved bilateral trade volumes of 97.18 billion and 86.86 billion US dollars respectively.

(MOFTEC Website January 15, 2003)