Trade between China and Europe has a long history. Before the sea route to Asia was discovered around 1500, merchants from East and West used the Silk Road for trading goods and for cultural exchange. This now legendary trading route not only brought Chinese silk to Europe, but also porcelain, carpets, jade, spices and tea. For the Chinese, the Silk Road was the main import route for glass, precious stones and horses. Accounts from this period describing the trade and wealth of the cities in the land of the Great Wall left a long-lasting impression in the West. Reports brought back by Marco Polo, son of a Venetian merchant who is believed to have spent 17 years travelling through China at the end of the 13th century, were an important source of knowledge about the mysterious land in the East.

China’s admission to the World Trade Organization at the end of 2001 was a significant boost for its international trade. Since then, China has made efforts to make it easier for foreign companies to enter the Chinese market. Thanks to a sales market of 1.3 billion consumers, the country attracts retailers from all over the world. The European Union is China’s most important trading partner, with a trade volume of around 356 billion US dollars in 2007.  China also has extensive trade links with the USA and Japan, and also with Hong Kong, a special administrative region which belongs to China but has retained its economic autonomy. The flow of goods between Germany and China is flourishing as well: the total value of imports and exports in 2007 was in the region of 94 billion US dollars. This makes the Federal Republic of Germany the People’s Republic’s most important European trading partner.