China unseats Germany as top exporting nation

China last year eclipsed
Germany as the world’s top
exporting nation.
According to the Washington
Post, China achieved the top
ranking because its exports fell
only 16%, while Germany's
exports fell more steeply.
China's customs agency
figures put total exports last
year at more than $1.2 trillion,
slightly ahead of the $1.17
trillion forecast for Germany by
its foreign trade organisation,
the Federation of German
Wholesale and Foreign Trade.
According to the report,
China is expected to surpass
Japan to become the world's
second-biggest economy
this year.
It is already the world's
biggest automobile
market, and largest steel
producer.