Malaysia again sells more to America than to China
Malaysia's goods exports to the US and to China, US$ billion, as reported by Malaysia, 2005–2024.
Malaysia sold US$43.4 billion of goods to the US in 2024, against 41.0 billion to China.
China overtook the US as a buyer of Malaysian goods in 2009; the US took the lead back in 2024.
Sales to the US grew 129% from 2015, against 57% to China, as factories serving America moved into Southeast Asia.
the numbers & method
| Year | United States (bn) | China (bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 27.8 | 9.3 |
| 2006 | 30.2 | 11.6 |
| 2007 | 27.5 | 15.4 |
| 2008 | 24.8 | 19.0 |
| 2009 | 17.2 | 19.1 |
| 2010 | 19.0 | 25.1 |
| 2011 | 18.9 | 29.8 |
| 2012 | 19.7 | 28.7 |
| 2013 | 18.4 | 30.8 |
| 2014 | 19.7 | 28.2 |
| 2015 | 18.9 | 26.1 |
| 2016 | 19.4 | 23.8 |
| 2017 | 20.7 | 29.3 |
| 2018 | 22.6 | 34.5 |
| 2019 | 23.3 | 34.0 |
| 2020 | 26.0 | 37.9 |
| 2021 | 34.4 | 46.4 |
| 2022 | 38.0 | 47.8 |
| 2023 | 35.5 | 42.2 |
| 2024 | 43.4 | 41.0 |
Claim types Fact · Interpretation
UN Comtrade API (comtradeapi.un.org/data/v1/get/C/A/HS), reporter Malaysia (458), flow X, cmdCode TOTAL, partners USA (842) and China (156), primaryValue (FOB), read 4 Nov 2026. US$ bn, US / China: 2008 24.81 / 19.01; 2009 17.24 / 19.10; 2015 18.93 / 26.06; 2023 35.46 / 42.15; 2024 43.43 / 41.01 (exact 2024: 43,434,916,631 and 41,008,240,378). Hong Kong is reported separately (19.4 bn in 2024) and not added to China. Singapore remains Malaysia's largest market (50.4 bn in 2024); the US is second and China third. Comtrade's 2025 release for Malaysia shows the US further ahead (60.8 bn vs 52.3 bn) but is left off the chart: its world total of 462.3 bn is out of line with Malaysia's own DOSM figure of RM1,609.4 bn for 2025 (+6.6% on RM1,509.3 bn in 2024, which Comtrade puts at 329.5 bn), so 2025 values look unreliable until revised. US Census mirror data agree on the direction: US imports from Malaysia were 52.2 bn in 2024 and 59.5 bn in 2025. Growth rates are progrss calculations. Takeaway 3's reason is an interpretation.
Published 4 Nov 2026
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