China has overtaken the United States to become the world's biggest exporter of IT and communications equipment and is increasingly sourcing components from its Asian neighbours at the expense of US and European companies, a study by the OECD said on Monday.
The OECD said that Chinese exports of information and communications technology — mobile phones, lap tops and digital cameras, for example — totalled 180 billion dollars (214 billion euros) in 2004, while US exports were valued at 149 billion dollars.
In 2003, Chinese exports of 123 billion dollars had trailed exports worth 137 billion dollars from the United States.
The study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development also revealed that trade among Asian nations had resulted in a decline in imports of ICT products from Europe and the US, as well as a fall in imports of electrical components from outside of Asia.
"To manufacture laptops and advanced mobile phones, China previously relied on electronic components such as computer chips imported from the EU and US," the OECD said.
"These are now also being increasingly sourced from other Asian countries."
China now supplied 27.0 percent of US imports of ICT equipment, an increase from its share of 10.0 percent in 2000, the OECD said.
Source: Agence France-Presse
