China surpassed the U.S. to become the world’s biggest trading nation last year as measured by the sum of exports and imports, a milestone in the Asian nation’s challenge to the U.S. dominance in global commerce that emerged after the end of World War 2 in 1945.
U.S. exports and imports last year totaled 3.82 trillion dollars.
China’s customs administration reported last month that the country’s total trade in 2012 amounted to 3.87 trillion dollars.
China had a 231.1 billion dollar annual trade surplus while the U.S. had a trade deficit of 727.9 billion dollars.