(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-16 15:50

BEIJING - China's total trade in mechanical and electrical products increased 22.2 percent year-on-year in 2007, to US$1.2 trillion, and the sector accounted for 55.3 percent of the country's trade.

"China is expected to replace the US as the world's second-largest exporter of mechanical and electrical goods," the Beijing-based China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products said on its web site on Wednesday.

The absolute leader is Germany, which is the world's largest trader and exporter of mechanical and electronic products.

Statistics from China and elsewhere show a global industry in continued transition, in terms of volume, trade patterns and product mix. China is exporting more electro-mechanical products but also importing more.

The sector's trade surplus was US$202.2 billion, up 66.2 percent, with exports up 27.6 percent to US$701.2 billion and imports up 16.7 percent to US$499 billion.

China's total trade set a record of US$2.17 trillion last year, with a surplus that surged to US$262.2 billion, up 47.7 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The United States has long been the world's top importer of mechanical and electrical products, but China last year became the third-largest destination for U.S. exports of these products.

According to US Customs data, the United States exported US$15.8 million worth of mechanical and electrical products to China during the first half of 2007, compared with US$15.7 million to Japan.

Experts noted that household electrical appliances and light industrial products made in China had an absolute advantage over American goods in price and product range, but the United States maintained its advantage in high-technology items.