China leapfrogs the U.S. to become the world's largest trading nation with £2.45trillion in imports and exports


China has leapfrogged the United States to become the world’s largest trading nation in a further sign that economic power is shifting from West to East.
The total value of Chinese imports and exports hit $3.87trillion (£2.45trillion) in 2012 – edging past the $3.82trillion (£2.44trillion) trade registered by the US.
It marked another key milestone for the rapidly-growing Chinese economy which is now the second largest in the world behind the US having overtaken Japan.

‘It is remarkable that an economy that is only a fraction of the size of the US economy has a larger trading volume,’ said Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

Growth in global trade slowed sharply last year but China still led the way among the world’s largest economies.
Chinese exports rose 8 per cent in 2012 following a 20.3 per cent jump in 2011 and 31.3 per cent increase in 2010.