SteelOrbis Shanghai
According to the statistics released by China's General Administration of Customs, China's trading volume for the first month of 2009 totaled $141.8 billion in value, down 29 percent year on year. Meanwhile, Chinese exports came to $90.45 billion in January, down 17.5 percent, while imports reached $51.34 billion, down 43.1 percent year on year. China's total trade surplus in January stood at $39.1 billion, up 102 percent year on year.
In January, the European Union (EU) continued to be China's biggest trading partner, with the trading value between the two sides totaling $27.93 billion, down 18.7 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the trading volume between China and the US in January declined 15.2 percent to $22.25 billion. Japan remained China's third largest trading partner, with bilateral trade dropping 28 percent to $14.5 billion in January.