By Jennifer Chang      Photo：Pixabay

Trade between China and the United States is ongoing despite the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia and rising tensions in Taiwan. More than a third of containerized imports to the United States come from China. The United States buys more than one-sixth of China's total exports.  But since the second half of last year, these conditions have begun to change. The decline in U.S. imports from China was much larger than the decline in total imports. On the other hand, other Asian countries, including Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and other Asian countries, have filled the gap caused by the decline in Chinese imports.

According to FreightWaves, China's imports to the U.S. fell by more than 5% between September and October of last year. Imports from China fell faster than total imports. In comparison, total imports to the U.S. were essentially flat at about 0.2% over the same time period. However, imports from Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and other Asian countries increased. For many years, the U.S. has been importing more goods from China than any other Asian country. In 2009-2019, imports from China exceeded imports from other Asian countries in the first nine months of each year, and in 2022, imports from other Asian countries exceeded imports from China, although they were almost at the same level as in 2020 and 2021. China has been the biggest beneficiary of globalization over the past few decades, becoming the world's factory, but after being hit by the U.S.-China trade war and the COVID, the key to corporate supply chain deployment is starting to shift from cost reduction to risk mitigation.

According to the Wall Street Journal, former U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese products in 2018 sparked a wave of de-globalization discussions that have so far resulted in the displacement of China, which in turn has driven U.S. imports from Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, rather than an overall reduction in imports.  In addition, the Russian attack on Ukraine has shifted global energy supply, with Russian energy exports going to China and India, and European imports from countries such as the United States and the Middle East. Due to the current political and economic conditions around the world, companies are forced to look for alternative sources of supply. Trade is a living organism that can change depending on conditions. Past habits or ties can always be replaced by new ones. Although the global trade landscape has undergone major upheaval in the last year, globalization is unlikely to be easily reversed and the continued reshuffling of trade flows will create new supply chain winners.

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