China's growth on export and import sector

China’s global competitiveness has been rising since the 1990’s. Import and export with the United States reflected that. In early 90’s, China replaced South Korea and Taiwan as the largest footwear supplier for the United States. China has also replaced Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea as the largest toys and sports supplier through the past 10 years. According to New York Times, 80% toys in the U.S. are made in China. In 2005, China has become the largest supplier for consumer appliances and IT hardware products. Previously, Japan and Mexico were the largest suppliers for the United States for those sectors.

Other than growth in export, import sector has grown rapidly at the same time, especially components to be assembled into finished products. China’s import was $53.4 billion in early 1990’s. In 2005, it has grown to $295 billions, which is an average growth rate of more than 15% per year. In 2006, China imported more than 400 billion dollars, exceeding the Japanese for the first time. China becomes the third’s largest importing country.

China has tripled its economy in the past decade or so and still has a lot of potential to grow. The question is how much will the economy expand and how much of the global market will the Chinese take over in the next ten, twelve years?