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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

China tops list of exporters

Global crisis helps unseat Germany

Joe Mcdonald Associated Press

BEIJING – Already the biggest auto market and steel maker, China edged past Germany in 2009 to become the top exporter, yet another sign of its rapid rise and the spread of economic power from West to East.

Total 2009 exports were more than $1.2 trillion, China’s customs agency said Sunday. That was ahead of the $1.17 trillion forecast for Germany by its foreign trade organization, BGA.

China’s new status is mostly symbolic but highlights its growing presence as an industrial power, as a major buyer of oil, iron ore and other commodities and, increasingly, as an investor and key voice in managing the global economy.

Its ability to unseat longtime export leader Germany reflects the ability of agile, low-cost Chinese manufacturers to keep selling abroad even as other exporters have been hammered by a slump in global demand.

China overtook Germany in 2007 as the third-largest economy and is expected to unseat Japan as No. 2 behind the United States as early as this year. Its trade boom has helped Beijing pile up the world’s biggest foreign currency reserves at more than $2 trillion.

The global crisis speeded China’s rise up the ranks as a $586 billion government stimulus kept its economy and consumption growing while the U.S. and other markets struggled with recession.

China’s exports per person are still much lower than those of Germany, which has a much smaller population of 80 million people. China sells low-tech goods such as shoes, toys and furniture, while Germany exports machinery and other higher-value products. German commentators note their country supplies the factory equipment used by top Chinese manufacturers.

“If China grows, this pushes the world’s economy – and that’s good for export-oriented Germany as well,” German economist Volker Treier said last month.