Germany’s foreign‑trade turnover with China reached €251.8 billion in 2025, making China the country’s top trading partner for the second time since 2016. The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced that China has once again overtaken the United States in this ranking.
The United States remained second, with a total trade value of €240.5 billion. Trade with China grew by 2.1 % compared with 2024, while turnover with the United States fell by 5.0 %. The decline was mainly caused by higher imports from China and simultaneous drops in German exports to the U.S. The Netherlands took third place, registering €209.1 billion in combined exports and imports – an increase of 3.3 %.
Since 2015, China has supplied the largest share of German imports. In 2025 Germany imported goods worth €170.6 billion from China, up 8.8 % from the previous year. Exports to China were €81.3 billion, down 9.7 %. China ranked sixth among destinations for German exports, and the trade surplus with China rose to €89.3 billion – up €22.4 billion from €66.9 billion in 2024.
The most significant categories of imports from China were data‑processing equipment, electrical and optical products (€50.9 billion, +4.9 %), followed by electrical installations (€32.8 billion, +14.8 %) and machinery (€13.9 billion, +11.6 %).
Germany’s second‑largest source of imports remained the Netherlands, contributing €96.7 billion (+3.9 %) in 2025; the United States was third with €94.3 billion (+2.7 %).
Against the United States, Germany has been the leading exporter since 2015. In 2025, exports to the U.S. totalled €146.2 billion, a drop of 9.4 % from 2024. The biggest share of these exports was motor vehicles and components (€28.5 billion, -17.8 %), closely followed by pharmaceutical products (€28.0 billion, +0.5 %). The trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to €51.9 billion from €69.6 billion a year earlier.
After the U.S., France ranked second among German export destinations with €117.4 billion (up 2.0 %), followed by the Netherlands with €112.5 billion (up 2.9 %).
Overall, Germany exported goods worth €1,563.0 billion and imported €1,362.5 billion in 2025. Exports grew by 0.9 % and imports by 4.3 % compared with 2024. The trade balance ended the year with a surplus of €200.5 billion, down from €242.9 billion in the previous year.