China vs United States: Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$)
China
2.46 trillion current US$
in 2023
United States
3.08 trillion current US$
in 2023
China rank
2nd
United States rank
1st
Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 3.08 trillion current US$ against 2.46 trillion current US$ in China, a difference of 627.88 billion current US$.
That makes United States's figure about 1.3 times China's.
Across all 47 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 206 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 657.90 million current US$ | 14.83 billion current US$ | 14.18 billion current US$ | United States |
| 1970s | 11.84 billion current US$ | 199.31 billion current US$ | 187.47 billion current US$ | United States |
| 1980s | 32.36 billion current US$ | 345.75 billion current US$ | 313.39 billion current US$ | United States |
| 1990s | 110.73 billion current US$ | 730.09 billion current US$ | 619.35 billion current US$ | United States |
| 2000s | 579.33 billion current US$ | 1.59 trillion current US$ | 1.01 trillion current US$ | United States |
| 2010s | 1.66 trillion current US$ | 2.29 trillion current US$ | 622.60 billion current US$ | United States |
| 2020s | 2.37 trillion current US$ | 2.87 trillion current US$ | 496.67 billion current US$ | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher merchandise imports by the reporting economy, China or United States?
- United States, at 3.08 trillion current US$ against 2.46 trillion current US$ in China as of 2023.
- What is the difference in merchandise imports by the reporting economy between China and United States?
- 627.88 billion current US$, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 47 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
- How do China and United States rank globally for merchandise imports by the reporting economy?
- China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 206 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Merchandise imports by the reporting economy are the total merchandise imports by the reporting economy from the rest of the world, as reported in the IMF's Direction of trade database. Data are in current U.S. dollars.