News
According to a report released recently by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan's total trade with China (imports and exports combined) fell 12.8% year-on-year to US$232.2 billion in 2009, marking the first decline in eleven years. Japan's exports to China dropped by 11.6% year-on-year to US$109.7 billion, while Japan's imports from China shrank 13.9% to US$122.5 billion.
Japan's trade with China posted negative growth (year-on-year) for 12 consecutive months, from November 2008 to October 2009, due to a slowing of the Chinese economy and economic downturns in Japan, the US and Europe, as a result of the financial crisis originating in the U.S., JETRO said.
This contraction, however, was smaller than the drop in Japan's overall trade, giving Japan-China trade a record 20.5% share of Japan's total trade in 2009. The share of Japan's exports to China out of overall exports, at 18.9%, also set a record, making the country Japan's largest export destination and pushing it ahead of the US for the first time. Japan's imports from China accounted for 22.2% of Japan's total imports, also a record, said the report.
In 2010, Japan's trade with China will likely grow in 2010, and depending on how imports fare, Japan's trade with China could either turn into a surplus or set another record high, JETRO added.
