China's trade surplus shrank by 34.2 percent in 2009

China's trade surplus shrank by 34.2 percent in 2009 to US$196 billion, the customs agency said. That reflected China's stronger demand for imported raw materials and consumer goods.

Much was made last week of the fact that China became the world's largest exporter. This was bound to happen and is not in and of itself a bad thing. They are also buying more. That's to be expected to. Free people with disposable income will buy stuff. And for the first time ever a lot of Chinese have disposable income. (No thanks to Marx or Mao or any other socialist!)

As China becomes richer they will import more and more.

Also keep in mind that trade is not EVER a one-way street: buyers of goods from China pay what they feel is a good price - trading a certain amount of capitol assets for goods assets, and then they make money on what the goods assets they've bought. So the idea that when we buy more things from China than we sell to them we are out-of-balance is nonsense. Every purchase is a balanced sale: a balanced fair even-steven trade of goods and capital between seller and buyer.