Does Each Country Trade More With the U.S., EU, or China?
Key Takeaways
- China is the leading goods-trade partner among the three powers for 92 countries and territories in 2025, up from just 10 in 2000.
- China’s goods trade grew nearly 14-fold to $6.4 trillion from 2000 to 2025, overtaking both the EU and the U.S.
- Longtime American allies including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia now trade more goods with China than with the U.S. or EU.
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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