Trade Friction Fallout
Implications on the global economy of the China-u.s. trade friction
After 40 years of reform and opening up, China is now the world second largest economy, next to the United States. China’s GDP has experienced exponential growth over the past decades, successfully breaking the barriers of a centrally-planned and closed economy to evolve to a modern, dynamic and progressive manufacturing and exporting hub of the world.
China’s success has earned it global fame as the “world’s factory” because of its huge manufacturing and export base. China’s sustained economic growth and the success of Chinese exports in global trade have made it a major player in the global economy, displacing decades-old dominance of the other major players.
Data from the International Trade Center indicated that in 2017 China was the world’s leading exporter by value, accounting for $2.263 trillion worth of products across various economies in the world. From a continental perspective, about 48.5 percent of the Chinese exports by value were delivered to fellow Asian countries while 22 percent were bought by North American importers. China also shipped 18.9 percent worth of goods to Europe. At 4.2 percent, a smaller portion of Chinese exports were bought by importers in Latin America (excluding Mexico) and the Caribbean, 4.1 percent went to Africa and 2.3 percent to the other parts of the world.
The United States, on the other hand, has been the largest economy in the world since