China remains single largest market for products of German electrical industry in 2018:ZVEI

BERLIN - China remained the single largest market for products of the German electrical industry in 2018, the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI) announced on Wednesday.

The value of products export increased by 10.3 percent to 21 billion euros. The second largest market was the United States, which imported German electrical exports worth 17.8 billion euros in 2018, according to the announcement.

"The already successful cooperation" between Germany and China on many future subjects such as artificial intelligence could be further strengthened, according to Chairman of the management board of ZVEI Klaus Mittelbach.

European countries such as France, the Netherlands and Britain are also among the most important markets of the German electrical industry.

In general, exports of electronic goods from Germany grew by 5 percent to 211.9 billion euros ($240.2 billion) in 2018, despite a slight decline towards the end of the year, the ZVEI said.

In December 2018, the value of German exports amounted to 15.8 billion euros, a slight decline of 0.3 percent compared to the same month last year. "It was the first decrease since July 2016", ZVEI chief economist Andreas Gontermann stated.

Imports of electronic goods increased by 4.4 percent to 191.1 billion euros in 2018, making Germany's export surplus reach 20.8 billion euros. However, towards the end of the year 2018, imports also fell by 0.7 percent in a year-on-year comparison.

In January, ZVEI announced that the German electrical industry is set to increase production by 1 percent with total sales exceeding 200 billion euros in 2019.