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.
- 1. Mexico, not China, now sells America the most goods
- 2. China's ASEAN trade is now almost double its US trade
- 3. America's duty-free parcels grew almost tenfold in nine years
- 4. Mexico's factories now outproduce Britain's and France's
- 5. The UAE sold more goods abroad than France in 2025
- 6. The EU now buys more US gas than Russian gas
- 7. Malaysia again sells more to America than to China
- 8. Brazil mines 93% of the world's niobium
- 9. More Vietnamese now work in industry than on farms
- 10. Indonesia set to use more palm oil than it exports
- 11. Factories now make more of Cambodia's economy than China's
- 12. China now buys more from Brazil than from Germany
- 13. Kazakhstan now sells Russia more than Germany does
- 14. China fell to third among America's suppliers in 2025
- 15. America overtook China as Taiwan's biggest export market
- 16. Mongolia's coal exports hit a record 90 million tonnes
- 17. Viet Nam's ports now handle more containers than Japan's
- 18. Liberia overtook Panama as the biggest flag by ship capacity
- 19. Nickel made Indonesia the world's fifth-biggest iron and steel exporter
Malaysia sold US$43.4 billion of goods to the US in 2024, against 41.0 billion to China.
China overtook the US as a buyer of Malaysian goods in 2009; the US took the lead back in 2024.
Sales to the US grew 129% from 2015, against 57% to China, as factories serving America moved into Southeast Asia.
the numbers & method
| Year | United States (bn) | China (bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 27.8 | 9.3 |
| 2006 | 30.2 | 11.6 |
| 2007 | 27.5 | 15.4 |
| 2008 | 24.8 | 19.0 |
| 2009 | 17.2 | 19.1 |
| 2010 | 19.0 | 25.1 |
| 2011 | 18.9 | 29.8 |
| 2012 | 19.7 | 28.7 |
| 2013 | 18.4 | 30.8 |
| 2014 | 19.7 | 28.2 |
| 2015 | 18.9 | 26.1 |
| 2016 | 19.4 | 23.8 |
| 2017 | 20.7 | 29.3 |
| 2018 | 22.6 | 34.5 |
| 2019 | 23.3 | 34.0 |
| 2020 | 26.0 | 37.9 |
| 2021 | 34.4 | 46.4 |
| 2022 | 38.0 | 47.8 |
| 2023 | 35.5 | 42.2 |
| 2024 | 43.4 | 41.0 |
Claim types Fact · Interpretation
UN Comtrade API (comtradeapi.un.org/data/v1/get/C/A/HS), reporter Malaysia (458), flow X, cmdCode TOTAL, partners USA (842) and China (156), primaryValue (FOB). US$ 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.
what connects to this
one plate, every morning
The new world, explained in one chart, in your inbox at 7:00, your time. Free.