According to official statistics, total imports and exports between the two countries reached US$690.6 billion (£572.6 billion) in 2022. Ties between the two countries have reached new lows in recent days after a Chinese balloon flew over the United States. Beijing denies the US claims it used it for spying purposes. The world’s two largest economies have also been embroiled in a trade war since 2018. New figures show that U.S. imports from China rose to $536.8 billion last year as U.S. buyers spent more on Chinese-made goods, including toys and mobile phones. During the same period, US exports to China increased to $153.8 billion.
In 2018, the Trump administration started to ramp up trade measures against Beijing. After decades of rising Chinese imports, Mr. Trump began imposing tariffs on a total of more than $300bn worth of Chinese goods. China hit back by placing import levies on about $100bn of American goods. Most of those measures remain in place more than two years after Joe Biden became president. This month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been due to visit China in what was seen as a thawing of relations between the two countries.
But the trip was abruptly postponed after a Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted hovering over America. Chinese officials have repeatedly stated that ” the airship was for civilian use and entered the United States due to force majeure. It was purely an accident.” In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden didn’t directly mention China’s ballooning but said his administration will always defend its sovereignty.
