China vs United States: Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$)
China
3.42 trillion current US$
in 2023
United States
2.02 trillion current US$
in 2023
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 3.42 trillion current US$ against 2.02 trillion current US$ in United States, a difference of 1.40 trillion current US$.
That makes China's figure about 1.7 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 47 shared years of data; in 1961 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 206 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 466.60 million current US$ | 19.98 billion current US$ | 19.52 billion current US$ | United States |
| 1970s | 9.93 billion current US$ | 152.87 billion current US$ | 142.94 billion current US$ | United States |
| 1980s | 28.93 billion current US$ | 234.32 billion current US$ | 205.39 billion current US$ | United States |
| 1990s | 128.35 billion current US$ | 540.11 billion current US$ | 411.76 billion current US$ | United States |
| 2000s | 744.82 billion current US$ | 917.12 billion current US$ | 172.30 billion current US$ | United States |
| 2010s | 2.18 trillion current US$ | 1.53 trillion current US$ | 645.91 billion current US$ | China |
| 2020s | 3.25 trillion current US$ | 1.82 trillion current US$ | 1.43 trillion current US$ | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher merchandise exports by the reporting economy, China or United States?
- China, at 3.42 trillion current US$ against 2.02 trillion current US$ in United States as of 2023.
- What is the difference in merchandise exports by the reporting economy between China and United States?
- 1.40 trillion current US$, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 47 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
- How do China and United States rank globally for merchandise exports by the reporting economy?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 206 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Merchandise exports by the reporting economy are the total merchandise exports by the reporting economy to the rest of the world, as reported in the IMF's Direction of trade database. Data are in current US$.