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China overtook Germany in 2009 to become the world's top exporting nation, another milestone in China's rapid rise and growing economic influence.

New numbers from China's customs agency say the country's exports for 2009 were more than $1.2 trillion, slightly ahead of Germany.

Exports in December rose nearly 18 percent from a year earlier.  At the same time, imports leapt nearly 56 percent.

China is a huge country, so it is not surprising to see China overtaking Germany as the world's top exporter.  Germany has a population of about 80 million, while China's population is about 1.3 billion.

In addition to being the world's largest exporter, China is already the biggest auto market and steel maker.  It is the third-largest economy in the world, behind the United States and Japan.

According to a UPI report, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China inaugurated a free-trade area on New Year's day that slashes tariffs in an area with a population of 2 billion.

Under the agreement, China is cutting tariffs on imports from ASEAN nations from an average of 9.8 percent to about 0.1 percent, Xinhua, the official government news agency, reported. Chinese imports to the original ASEAN members -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- now taxed at an average of 12.8 percent, will carry .6 percent tariffs.

Trade between China and the Asean has soared in recent years, to $192.5 billion in 2008, from $59.6 billion in 2003. The new free-trade zone, which will remove tariffs on 90 percent of traded goods, is expected to increase that commerce still more.


The new ASEAN members, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, are expected to allow 90 percent of Chinese imports in without tariff by 2015, UPI reports.

According to an AFP report, bowing to Chinese law, Apple is reportedly blocking iPhone users in China from downloading applications about two figures Beijing considers "separatists": the Dalai Lama and exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer.The Chinese authorities have been known for blocking several websites in the past few years that do not conform to their policies of communism.

Those apps, which appear in most countries' versions of the App Store, do not currently appear in the Chinese version. Although the apps have been made available to download all over the world, iPhone users in China will not be able to do so. The apps contains information about the Lama, including his laureates and daily quotes which most Lama followers would love to be enlightened with.

China's economic growth looks set to accelerate into the new year, with booming factories driving a December manufacturing survey to a 20-month high, According to a Reuters report.

The survey released on Friday also showed the rapid pace of activity pushed up prices of inputs such as labor, raw materials and capital to a 17-month high in China, potentially complicating efforts of officials who want to maintain growth-friendly policies without driving inflation expectations.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to 56.6 in December from 55.2 in the previous month, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said.

It was the 10th consecutive month of expansion and the biggest monthly rise since March, reflecting that Chinese manufacturers, far from plateauing after a recovery, have actually gathered momentum heading into 2010, Reuters reported.