(VOVWORLD) - China last year overtook the United States as the EU's biggest trading partner, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said on Monday.
Eurostat said the trade volume with China reached 586 billion euros ($711 billion) in 2020, compared to 555 billion euros ($673 billion) for the US. EU exports rose by 2.2 percent to 202.5 billion euros while at the same time, imports from the People's Republic of China increased by 5.6 percent to 383.5 billion euros.
EU exports to the US fell by 13.2 percent in the same period and imports by 8.2 percent.
China's resilience came after it suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic during the first quarter, then vigorously recovering with consumption exceeding that of a year ago by the end of 2020. This helped drive sales of European products, particularly in the automobile and luxury goods sectors, while China's exports to Europe benefited from strong demand for medical equipment and electronics.
The two sides are also working on an investment deal that gives European companies greater access into China’s market.