Romania-China trade reaches 9.3 billion USD in 2024; deficit exceeds 7.7 billion USD

The volume of bilateral trade between Romania and China reached nearly 9.3 billion USD last year, however the trade balance shows a deficit for Romania of over 7.7 billion USD in 2024 and 2.1 billion USD in the first quarter of 2025, President of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIB) Iuliu Stocklosa stated on Thursday."According to statistical data recorded at the end of 2024, the People's Republic of China was Romania's second-largest trading partner among non-EU countries, after Türkiye, with a bilateral trade volume of nearly 9.3 billion USD. At the same time, China was the main supplier of goods to Romania from outside the EU, with a volume of 8.5 billion USD. This trend continued in the first three months of 2025 (available data), with bilateral trade of 2.4 billion USD, of which imports from the People's Republic of China amounted to 2.2 billion USD. However, the trade balance recorded a deficit for Romania of over 7.7 billion USD in 2024 and 2.1 billion USD in the first quarter of 2025," Iuliu Stocklosa sated at the China-Romania Trade Promotion and Exchange Forum, organized by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in RomaniaHe mentioned that these figures underscore the need to ensure Romanian exports grow at a faster pace than imports, along with more balanced and diversified economic relations."Romanian companies must become more active in accessing the Chinese market, and we are convinced that our country's economy has the capacity to supply products and services that meet the demands of Chinese partners. By April 2025, over 14,000 companies with Chinese capital participation had operated in Romania, representing around 5 percent of all foreign-capital companies in the country, with a subscribed share capital of approximately 491 million USD. These figures are encouraging, and we are confident they can grow through strengthened the bilateral cooperation. We believe that events like today's are essential. They reflect not only the mutual openness of our business communities but also contribute to building trust and better understanding of our markets," the CCIB president said.In his turn, Managing Director of the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade Sorin Toader underscored that the trade imbalance we have recently seen, namely 7.7 billion USD in the previous year and 4.3 billion USD in the first six months of this year, represents a major concern for the Romanian side."The establishment of the Romania-China Working Group for the promotion of unrestricted bilateral trade can play an important role in achieving this goal, as well as a dynamic balance between export and import volumes," Sorin Toader added.The China-Romania Trade Promotion and Exchange Forum was also attended by Chen Feng, the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Romania and Li Na, the Deputy Director General of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.