German media: The share of Chinese products in EU imports has significantly increased

On August 15th, the German newspaper Time reported that research shows that China's share of EU imports has significantly increased. More and more products are imported from China to the EU, especially in the product field that Germany has always been specialized in. This is the analysis result of a report by the German Institute of Economic Research (IW). From 2020 to 2022 alone, the growth rate of the share of Chinese products in many EU imported products was almost equivalent to the entire decade from 2010 to 2020.
Economists believe that this development will mainly affect Germany's traditionally specialized complex industrial products, and the traditional advantages of German exports lie in these areas. However, it is in these areas that Germany's share of EU imports is rapidly declining. From 2000 to 2022, Germany's share decreased from 17.7% to 15.5%. China's share has increased from 2.5% to 13%. The author of the IW report and foreign trade expert Jurgen Mates said, "Given the challenges of Germany's energy transformation, competitiveness issues, and location factors, this result is worrying." The IW report states that Germany's industrial export model seems to be on the verge of collapse.
The article in the German newspaper "Business Daily" on August 15th, originally titled: China's pressure on Germany in Europe has been evident for many years. Other analyses have also confirmed this trend. The recent conclusion drawn by the German Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment (GTAI) is that Chinese companies are gradually catching up with or even surpassing their competitors in the world market. From 2000 to 2020, China's share in global exports increased by at least 11 percentage points, reaching around 15%, while Germany's share almost stagnated at around 8%.
The significant technological progress made by Chinese enterprises and the support of the Chinese government have also played a role. IW expert Matters stated that China is catching up in technology and becoming increasingly competitive in innovative products. The Chinese government supports this goal through the "Made in China 2025" action plan. In recent years, the number of licenses granted to China by German research institutions and enterprises to use German technology has also significantly increased.
An example of China's advantage in the EU import market is mechanical engineering. In 2010, Chinese machinery manufacturers accounted for 6.8% of EU imports, compared to 11.4% last year. During the same period, the share of German machinery manufacturers decreased from 22.6% to 20.5%.
Observers are concerned that the automotive market may be the next. Compared to Germany, the share of Chinese cars in EU imports is still very small, but as shown by IW data, there has been a significant upward trend in recent years. In 2000, China's share in EU automobile imports was 0.1%, and by 2022, this proportion had reached 3.5%. (Translated by Dana Hyde and Aoki)