The rebalancing of China’s foreign trade

China was a major player in the rise of global imbalances in the mid-2000s. If its overall trade surplus has decreased since 2007, its bilateral surpluses with the U.S. and Europe remain quite large. China’s import demand has mainly benefited to its Asian neighbors and to raw material producing countries. However, Europe has also taken advantage of China’s demand in consumption goods and increased its share in this market. The slowdown in international demand makes the rebalancing of China’s domestic demand towards household consumption more necessary than ever for China's growth and is expected to benefit to European exporters1.