Infographic: How Asia-Pacific Trades With China & the U.S.

Marcus Lu
2025-06-20 15:25:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

Infographic: How Asia-Pacific Trades With China & the U.S.

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In the Asia-Pacific region, economic power plays a major role in determining geopolitical influence. This is because trade relationships, especially those with dominant economies, often shape diplomatic priorities and regional alliances.

In this infographic, we’ve visualized trade flows between key Asia-Pacific countries and the world’s two superpowers, the U.S. and China.

Data & Discussion

The data for this visualization comes from Council on Foreign Relations. Figures represent goods trade value from 2023.

Country	Exports to China ($B)	Exports to U.S. ($B)	Imports from China ($B)	Imports from U.S. ($B)
Australia	120	13	72	32
Japan	126	145	168	76
Malaysia	42	35	57	20
South Korea	125	116	143	72
Thailand	34	48	71	19
Vietnam	61	97	111	14

From this table, we can see that all of these countries import significantly more goods from China. The largest differentials are found in Vietnam ($97 billion more imported from China) and Japan ($92 billion more).

Export flows are mixed, with Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam exporting more goods to America. Australia leans heavily the other way, exporting $120 billion worth of goods to China but only $13 billion to the U.S.

The total value of goods trade between these nations is listed in the next table. From this perspective, it’s clear that China is winning when it comes to trade.

Country	Total China Trade Value ($B)	Total U.S. Trade Value ($B)
Australia	$192	$45
Japan	$294	$221
Malaysia	$99	$55
South Korea	$268	$188
Thailand	$105	$67
Vietnam	$172	$111

Is America Losing Trust?

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Trump’s reciprocal tariff push is harming America’s reputation in Asia-Pacific as a reliable trading partner.

China appears to be taking advantage of this volatility. In April 2025, for example, it restarted talks with South Korea and Japan to introduce a free trade agreement. It is also working to warm ties with Australia, despite recent spats over things like COVID-19 and coal imports.

Beijing is now promoting itself in the region as the only stable economic power left in the world, and it has ramped up aid and foreign investment to shore up the vacuum left by the United States.

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