On the occasion of the 11th European Union - China summit, which will take place on 20 May in Prague, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, issues data on trade and investments between China and the EU.
Germany, 43% of EU27 exports to China and 21% of EU27 imports
Among the EU27 Member States, Germany (34 bn euro or 43% of EU exports) was by far the largest exporter to China in 2008, followed by France (9 bn or 11%), Italy and the United Kingdom (both 6 bn or 8%). Germany (51 bn or 21% of EU imports) was also the largest importer, followed by the Netherlands (41 bn or 16%), the United Kingdom (33 bn or 13%) and Italy (24 bn or 10%).
All Member States registered deficits in trade with China in 2008. The largest deficits were observed in the Netherlands (-37 bn euro), the United Kingdom (-27 bn), Germany and Italy (both -17 bn) and Spain (-15 bn).
Nearly 60% of EU27 exports to China in 2008 were machinery and vehicles and one fifth were other manufactured articles, while these two groups accounted for more than 90% of imports. At the detailed level, the main EU27 exports to China included aircraft and motor cars, while the main imports included computers and parts, mobile phones and video games.
EU27 surplus of 6 bn in trade in services with China
In 2008, the EU27 exported 20.3 bn euro of services to China, while imports from China amounted to 14.5 bn, meaning that the EU27 had a surplus of 5.8 bn in trade in services with China, compared with +1.5 bn in 2006 and +4.0 bn in 2007. The surplus in 2008 was mainly due to other business services (+3.7 bn) and royalties & license fees (+1.6 bn). China accounted for around 3.5% of total extra-EU27 trade in services.
