China surpasses Germany for the first time in the export of engineering products

German mechanical engineers have lost their world export title. In 2020, China became the most important supplier of machines and systems for the first time, according to a study by the German Mechanical Engineering Association (VDMA).

According to national statistical offices, the world foreign trade in equipment is estimated at about 1.05 trillion euros in 2020. Due to the crisis, the volume was almost ten percent lower than a year earlier. China’s share of international sales was around 165 billion euros, or 15.8 percent of the market. Germany, in turn, exported machines and systems in the amount of 162 billion euros, which corresponds to a share of 15.5 percent. Apart from Germany, other large exporting countries of machines and systems, unlike China, are showing a downward trend in their share of world trade. The United States continues to rank third with 9.1 percent of its mechanical engineering exports, followed by Japan at just under 8.6 and Italy at 6.7 percent.

“Thus, it was only a matter of time before China became the leader in foreign equipment trade,” Die Welt quotes Ulrich Ackermann, head of VDMA’s foreign trade department. According to him, China is getting better, while offering increasingly sophisticated products on the market. The economic recovery in the EU could help boost German car exports this year and allow the industry to return to the top. how the European sales market fell sharply during this period, VDMA experts believe.