01Key Takeaways
- China's imports totaled $2.56 trillion in 2023, down 5.9% from $2.72 trillion in 2022, the first year-over-year decline after two straight years of growth.
- Other Asia, nes was the top source at 7.8% of imports ($199.3 billion), followed by the USA at 6.5% ($165.2 billion) and South Korea at 6.3% ($161.7 billion).
- The top three import sources together accounted for 20.6% of total import value, a notably lower concentration than on the export side.
- Electrical machinery and equipment was the top import category at 21.5% of total value ($548.7 billion), with mineral fuels and oils close behind at 20.2% ($515.9 billion).
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $2079.3B | $2069.6B | $2679.4B | $2716.0B | $2556.8B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other Asia, nes | $199.3B | 7.8% |
| 2 | United States | $165.2B | 6.5% |
| 3 | South Korea | $161.7B | 6.3% |
| 4 | Japan | $160.5B | 6.3% |
| 5 | Australia | $155.6B | 6.1% |
| 6 | Russia | $129.2B | 5.1% |
| 7 | Brazil | $122.5B | 4.8% |
| 8 | Germany | $106.2B | 4.2% |
| 9 | China | $104.3B | 4.1% |
| 10 | Malaysia | $102.9B | 4.0% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $548.7B | 21.5% |
| 2 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $515.9B | 20.2% |
| 3 | Ores, Slag and Ash | $237.8B | 9.3% |
| 4 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $197.2B | 7.7% |
| 5 | Natural or Cultured Pearls, Precious or Semi-Precious Stones, Precious Metals, Metals Clad with Precious Metal, and Articles thereof; Imitation Jewellery; Coin | $114.0B | 4.5% |
| 6 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $77.6B | 3.0% |
| 7 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $70.7B | 2.8% |
| 8 | Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits; Miscellaneous Grains, Seeds and Fruit; Industrial or Medicinal Plants; Straw and Fodder | $68.7B | 2.7% |
| 9 | Copper and Articles thereof | $62.7B | 2.5% |
| 10 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $62.0B | 2.4% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
China's Top Import Sources in 2023
China brought in $2.56 trillion worth of goods in 2023, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That figure is down 5.9% from the $2.72 trillion recorded in 2022, ending two consecutive years of growth. The single largest source, classified as "Other Asia, nes" in the underlying customs data, supplied 7.8% of total imports, worth $199.3 billion. This grouping combines smaller Asian trading partners and transshipment points that customs reporting does not break out individually, rather than pointing to one specific country.
Among named partners, the United States ranked second at 6.5% ($165.2 billion), just ahead of South Korea at 6.3% ($161.7 billion) and Japan, also at 6.3% ($160.5 billion). Australia followed closely at 6.1% ($155.6 billion), reflecting its position as a major raw materials supplier. Russia took sixth at 5.1% ($129.2 billion), and Brazil came in seventh at 4.8% ($122.5 billion). Germany supplied 4.2% ($106.2 billion). One notable entry is China itself, credited with 4.1% of import value, worth $104.3 billion, a pattern that typically reflects re-imports and goods processed through bonded zones rather than trade with a genuinely separate country. Malaysia rounded out the top ten at 4.0% ($102.9 billion).
Compared with many exporting economies, China's import base is unusually spread out. The top three sources together account for just 20.6% of total value, a concentration level far lower than what shows up on the export side of this dataset. That spread reflects the sheer range of raw materials, components, and consumer goods a manufacturing economy of this size needs to draw in from around the world.
Leading Import Categories
Electrical machinery and equipment, the same category that dominates China's exports, is also the largest import category, worth $548.7 billion and accounting for 21.5% of total import value in 2023. That points to a manufacturing model built heavily around importing components and re-exporting finished electronics. Mineral fuels, oils, and related distillation products followed closely at 20.2% ($515.9 billion), underscoring how much energy China still sources from abroad despite its own production base.
Ores, slag, and ash ranked third at 9.3% ($237.8 billion), a category dominated by iron ore and other metal-bearing raw materials feeding the country's steel industry. Machinery and mechanical appliances added 7.7% ($197.2 billion), while natural and cultured pearls, precious stones, and precious metals brought in 4.5% ($114.0 billion). Optical, photographic, and medical instruments contributed 3.0% ($77.6 billion). Vehicles and related parts and accessories added 2.8% ($70.7 billion), and oil seeds and other oleaginous fruits, along with related grains and industrial plants, brought in 2.7% ($68.7 billion). Copper and articles thereof contributed 2.5% ($62.7 billion), and plastics closed out the top ten at 2.4% ($62.0 billion).
For export-side sellers evaluating China as a destination market, this mix signals where demand is deepest. Raw material suppliers, particularly in energy and metal ores, and electronics component makers are working with the largest and most established channels into the country. Consumer goods sellers will find a comparatively smaller opening at this scale, since no category outside electronics, energy, and metal ores clears even 10% of total import value.
A Broad, Resource-and-Electronics Driven Import Profile
The five-year trend shows imports holding roughly flat before a sharp jump and a recent pullback. Imports moved from $2.08 trillion in 2019 to $2.07 trillion in 2020, essentially unchanged across the first year of the pandemic, before climbing sharply to $2.68 trillion in 2021 and peaking at $2.72 trillion in 2022. The 5.9% decline to $2.56 trillion in 2023 brought the total back down, though it remains well above the 2019 and 2020 levels. Unlike the export side, where two product categories alone cover more than 41% of total value, China's import mix spreads more evenly across electronics, energy, metal ores, machinery, and raw materials, a structure that mirrors the breadth of inputs a large manufacturing base requires.
The reliance on mineral fuels and metal ores, together nearly 30% of import value, ties China's import bill closely to global commodity price cycles. A spike in oil or iron ore prices would raise the country's import costs sharply even without any change in physical volume, while a downturn in those same markets would work in the opposite direction.
This pattern fits the wider picture described by the World Bank, which points to a broader structural shift in China's economy toward high-value manufacturing and services even as external demand has cooled. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.