Japan's trade with China totaled 24.949 trillion yen in 2005, making it the country's biggest trading partner for the second year running despite souring bilateral relations, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday.
Japan's worldwide trade surplus in 2005 meanwhile shrank 26.5 percent from the previous year to 8.785 trillion yen, marking the first fall in four years as high crude oil prices inflated the value of imports, the ministry said in a preliminary report.
The two-way trade with China, up 12.4 percent from 2004, eclipsed Japan's 21.876 trillion yen in trade with the United States, Japan's previous largest trading partner.