19 January 2010 | Jake Kanter

China has overtaken Germany as the world’s biggest exporting country, according to reports from the state media service Xinhua.

The country’s total exports reached $1.2 trillion (£743.3 billion) last year. This was slightly higher than the $1.17 trillion (£724.7 billion) forecast for Germany by the Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade.
 


In addition, China’s exports rose to $130.7 billion (£80.9 billion) in December, 17.7 per cent higher than the same period last year. The rise broke 13 months of contraction in trade as a result of the economic downturn.


“One thing is for sure, China is the leading exporter globally,” Zhang Yansheng, director of the Institute of Foreign Trade of the National Development and Reform Commission, told China Daily.
 


General Administration of Customs statistician Huang Guohua added: “It is safe to say now that Chinese exporters have come right through the period of weakness.”

But the claim could spell higher prices for buyers in the long-term, according to Bradley Feuling, chief executive of supply chain consultancy Kong and Allan.

He said as China maintains its dominance in the export market, the country will require more raw materials for the goods it produces.

Local resources will dwindle and it will be forced to increase imports, gradually pushing up prices for consumers, Feuling argued.