China overtakes US as Germany's top trade partner

China overtook the United States and France as Germany's most important trading partner in 2016, data from the Germany's Federal Statistics Office showed on Friday.

Trading volumes between Germany and China amounted to 170 billion euros ($180 billion) last year, according to the German statistics agency.

Xue Rongjiu, deputy director of the Beijing-based China Society for WTO Studies, said he expected the Sino-German bilateral trade relationship to be further strengthened in the future, should the US administration pursue trade protectionism that might shake the confidence of a majority of Chinese exporters.