Based on the US government data, trade with China plunged by 16.7% in 2023, with the People's Republic now only America's third most important trading partner after Mexico and Canada. And Mexico has overtaken China as the leading exporter to the US, a position China held for 17 years.

Already fraught, the US-China trading relationship is set to get a whole lot more acrimonious this year as the Biden administration considers additional tariffs on Chinese imports. And if Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November, relations will almost certainly hit an all-time low. The Republican candidate has promised to slap tariffs of at least 60% on all Chinese goods, which would undoubtedly spark the mother of all trade wars between the two nations.

China's 15 biggest trading partners