Top world trade parner: China, not US

China, in just 5 years, has surpassed the United States as the top trading partner for much of the world, according to an Associated Press analysis of trade data. In 2006, the US was still the top trading partner for 127 countries, and China just 70. The two traded places in 2011: 124 countries for China, 76 for the US. In the most abrupt global shift of its kind since World War II, the trend is changing the way people live and do business. The findings show how fast China has ascended to challenge America’s century-old status as the globe’s dominant trader, a change that is gradually translating into political influence. 

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