China overtakes US to become world’s biggest goods trading nation

China imported and exported goods valued at $4.16 trillion (£2.5 trillion) last year

America has finally lost its crown to China as the world’s biggest goods trading nation.

China imported and exported goods valued at $4.16 trillion (£2.5 trillion) last year, marking a 7.6pc rise on 2012, according to new figures.

America will not release the equivalent numbers until February but it is highly unlikely to stay ahead of China. During the first 11 months of 2013, it traded $3.57 trillion of goods.

The US remains the biggest overall trading nation in the world, thanks to heavy exports of services, but Friday’s data demonstrate a shift in the balance of economic might between the two superpowers.

Zheng Yuesheng, chief statistician of China’s customs administration, said: “This is a landmark milestone for our nation’s foreign trade development.”

Kamel Mellahi, professor of strategic management at Warwick Business School, who focuses on emerging markets, said that China is set to maintain its new lead.

“It’s always been a matter of time until China surpasses the US ... and there are good reasons to believe that China is likely to retain this pole position for the foreseeable future.

“The trade figures look very healthy and the factors underpinning them are structurally sustainable. It is hard to see them being reversed significantly, at least in the short to medium term.”