EU-China Relations: Chinese share of total extra-EU goods imports 2002-2022

The share of total imports coming from outside of the European Union which came from china almost tripled in the two decades from 2002 to 2022. China had been emerging as a key exporter during the 1990s, when it was labelled the 'workshop of the world' for producing manufacturing and consumer goods at a fraction of the cost that they were produced in other regions. As the 2000s progressed, China's share of imports into the EU soared from 7.8% in 2002 to almost 17% in 2010, after which point the reemergence of the United States and other key partners following the grest recession caused China's share to slightly fall.

Since 2013, China's share of extra-EU imports has once again risen, now standing at over one-fifth of all improrts. Whether this trading relationship is maintained in the coming years remains to be seen, as political tensions between China and the EU have risen sharply following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the growing geopolitical conflict between China and the United States.