A new study from one of China’s leading universities claims that over the past five years Chinese import growth has driven nearly a quarter of global import growth.
The “China Import Development Report (2018)” (中国进口发展报告（2018年）) released by Beijing Normal University found that China’s imports from the rest of the world rose from USD$10.9 billion in 1978 to $1.841 trillion in 2017 for a 169-fold increase.
Over the same period Chinese imports as a share of global imports rose from 0.93% to 11.59%, lifting China’s rank as a global importer from 23rd in 1979 to 2nd in 2017.
The Report points out that Chinese import growth further accelerated following the country’s accession to the WTO in 2001.
During the period from 2012 – 2017 Chinese imports made an average contribution of 22.5% to global import growth.
