The volume of trade between Romania and China was almost USD 9.3 billion in 2024, according to official statistics. Trade between the two, however, is not balanced. Romania registered a USD 7.7 billion deficit with China, and a USD 2.1 billion deficit in the first quarter of 2025 as well.
The People’s Republic of China was Romania’s second-largest non-EU trading partner, after Turkey, according to the president of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Iuliu Stocklosa.
“China was the main supplier of goods for Romania among non-EU states, with a volume of USD 8.5 billion. This situation was also maintained in the first three months of 2025, with bilateral trade of USD 2.4 billion, of which imports from the People’s Republic of China amounted to USD 2.2 billion. However, the trade balance records a deficit for Romania of over USD 7.7 billion in 2024 and USD 2.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025,” the official said during the China–Romania Trade Promotion Forum, organized by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Romania.
The official noted that the figures underline the need to ensure an increase in Romanian exports at a faster pace than imports, as well as more balanced and diversified economic relations, according to Agerpres.
“Romanian companies must become more active in accessing the Chinese market, and we are convinced that our country’s economy has the capacity to provide products and services that meet the requirements of Chinese partners,” said the CCIB president.
Over 14,000 companies with Chinese capital participation operate in Romania, representing about 5% of the total number of foreign-capital companies in the country, with a subscribed share capital of approximately USD 491 million.
In turn, the general director of the Romanian Agency for Investments and Foreign Trade, Sorin Toader, stressed that the imbalance of the trade balance represents a major concern for the Romanian side.
“We consider that the establishment of the Romanian–Chinese Working Group for the promotion of unrestricted bilateral trade can play an important role in achieving this objective as well as a dynamic balance between the volume of exports and that of imports,” added Toader.
Romania is not the only EU country with a trade deficit with China. Germany, for example, exports goods worth USD 104 billion to China, but imports goods worth USD 164 billion from the Asian country, resulting in a USD 60 billion trade deficit.
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