China to overtake Germany as world’s largest exporter

In its annual report on trade, the WTO reaffirms that it expects trade to drop 10 percent this year. And with Asia leading the recovery, China looks set to overtake Germany as the biggest export nation.

Last year, Germany was still barely holding on to its position as the world’s leading merchandise exporter, with exports of $1.47 trillion just edging out China, with some $1.43 trillion.

But with Asian nations starting to see a rebound in trade and Europe still turning in a weak performance, Germany’s dominance in exports may be a thing of the past. Discussing the World Trade Organization’s annual report on world trade, WTO chief economist Patrick Low expects China to overtake Germany as the world’s biggest exporter this year.