Shanghai's Trade with ASEAN Surpasses EU for First Time

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Shanghai’s trade with Southeast Asia became its largest regional partnership for the first time in May, slightly surpassing trade with the European Union. This shift highlights the ongoing trend of increasing trade ties between China and Southeast Asia.

According to recent data from Shanghai Customs, the city’s total imports and exports with ASEAN reached 70.1 billion yuan (approximately $9.7 billion) in May, edging out the 69.6 billion yuan exchanged with the EU during the same period.

Trade with ASEAN increased by 26% compared to the previous year, vastly outpacing the 3% growth recorded in trade with the EU. Specifically, trade between Shanghai and Vietnam, an ASEAN member, more than doubled from the same period last year.

As the major economic center in the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai’s shifting trade partnerships reflect a broader diversification of China’s foreign trade relationships. Since 2020, ASEAN has been China’s top trading partner in goods.

This achievement underscores years of gradually strengthening trade connections with ASEAN, driven by deeper regional economic integration, supply chain adjustments, and more rapid trade growth compared to the EU.

Historically, the EU was Shanghai’s largest trading partner. In 2014, trade with the EU totaled 637.9 billion yuan, compared to 330.4 billion yuan with ASEAN—ranking behind the EU, the United States, and Japan. By 2020, the trade gap between Shanghai’s dealings with the EU and ASEAN remained over 210 billion yuan, although ASEAN had already become the city’s second-largest trading partner a year earlier.

In the past five years, ASEAN’s role in Shanghai’s foreign trade has continued to grow, supported by the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, improvements to the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area, and global supply chain reorganization amid China-US trade tensions.