'Better off thanks to China': German companies double down on resurgent giant

China 'emerging stronger'

In terms of top destinations for German exports by value, China overtook France in the first nine months of 2020 and came close to the United States, data from the Federal Statistics Office compiled for Reuters showed.

A senior official told Reuters that given the latest trade and growth trends, China was likely to overtake the United States by the end of the year, to become number one.

China's share of overall German exports rose to nearly 8 percent in the Jan-Sept period, from roughly 7 percent a year earlier, according to the data. China is also Germany's top supplier, with its share of German imports rising to more than 11 percent from below 10 percent.

In the near term, at least, China is looking stronger than many countries in the West.

Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, is reeling under a second wave of COVID-19 and its economy is forecast to shrink by a record 6 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. China is expected to be the only major economy to report growth this year, with a projected expansion rate of 1.9 percent.

Germany is expected to rebound in 2021, yet its projected growth of 4.2 percent still lags the IMF's global forecast of 5.2 percent and is around half of China's projected 8.2 percent.