Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2020 shows the Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicles which will be exported to Europe at Waigaoqiao port in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)
Starting from July, China became the bloc's top trading partner, a position previously held by the U.S., according to the EU's statistical body.
BRUSSELS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China remained the European Union (EU)'s top trading partner as of October, said Eurostat on Wednesday.
The EU's trade in goods with China in the first ten months stood around 477.7 billion euros (582.8 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 2.2 percent compared with the same period of 2019, according to Eurostat.
Meanwhile, the trade in goods with the United States in January-October dropped to 460.7 billion euros, down by 11.2 percent year on year.
Starting from July, China became the bloc's top trading partner, a position previously held by the U.S., according to the EU's statistical body.
Aerial photo shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Helsinki, Finland departing from Putian Station of Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Nov. 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan)
The bloc's international trade sharply fell from February onwards, and reached its lowest in April, after Europe was identified by the World Health Organization as the epicenter of COVID-19 in mid-March.
The trade in goods picked up in May and stabilized in June, although still below the pre-pandemic levels.
In October, the EU exported 178.9 billion euros worth of goods, down by 10.3 percent year-on-year, and imported 150.8 billion euros, a decrease of 14.3 percent compared to October 2019. (1 euro = 1.22 U.S. dollars)
Staff members check the cargo before loading onto China-Europe freight trains at a cargo distribution center in Haicang District of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Nov. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
A single purchase
