
BEIJING -- The U.S. is losing importance as a trading partner of China as their tariff war drags on, dropping a notch to third place in the first half of 2019 to trail the European Union and Southeast Asia.
Sino-American trade in goods declined 14% on the year to $258.3 billion, according to statistics out Friday from Chinese customs authorities. In exports, the U.S. sustained a much harder blow.