Trade between the U.S. and China is on track to break records, a signal of resilient links between the world’s top economies amid the heated national security rhetoric in Washington and fears of decoupling.
U.S. government data through November suggest that imports and exports in 2022 will add up to an all-time high, or at least come very close, when the final report comes out Feb. 7. Beijing just published its own full-year figures that show record trade of around $760 billion.
There are some caveats. Trade slowed toward the end of the year, as U.S. import demand cooled and China struggled to manage its COVID-19 restrictions. And the trade data isn’t adjusted for inflation, which means higher dollar figures may not translate to more goods shipped.