As of April 2025, Sino-German trade continues to grow, driven by the green economy and digital transformation, with bilateral trade surpassing EUR 250 billion, up 8.5% year-on-year. China’s exports to Germany are dominated by new energy vehicles (e.g. BYD’s share of the German EV market rose to 18%), photovoltaic modules, and industrial robots, while Germany’s exports to China focus on high-end precision machinery (+12%) and biopharmaceutical technology. Despite the EU Carbon Tariff (CBAM) pressure on traditional sectors such as steel and chemicals (increasing the cost of Chinese exports of related products by around 15%), the two sides have made breakthroughs in joint R&D on hydrogen technology (e.g., China and Germany are building five green hydrogen demonstration projects) and synergies in digital trade rules (e.g., cross-border data flow pilots), which balances out geo-policy frictions. On the logistics side, the 20% year-on-year increase in the number of China-European liner trains in the first quarter of 2025, coupled with the expansion of “carbon neutral routes” for air transportation, has supported the efficient flow of high-value-added commodities such as lithium batteries. In the future, supply chain resilience adjustment and mutual understanding of low-carbon technologies will remain key issues.
Maritime transportation costs from China to Germany in April 2025
| Type of transportation | Cost range (April 2025) |
| LCL(consolidated cargo) | $155 per m³（Suitable for Hamburg） |
| FCL (20-foot container) | $1,050 (Hamburg), $5,300 (Munich) Cost-effective for bulk shipments |
| FCL (40-foot container) | $1,975 (Hamburg), $8,500 (Munich) Ideal for larger volume shipments |
| DDP Ocean Freight Double Clearance with Taxes to Door | $2.5 per kg（Statute of limitations: 40-45 days） |
| DDP railway transport double clear tax to door | $2.8 per kg（Statute of limitations: 30-35 days） |
| DDP trucking double clearing tax to door | $3 per kg（Statute of limitations: 25-30 days） |
Understanding import taxes and duties
| Product | Customs Duty Rate | VAT Rate |
| Electronics | 0% | 19% |
| Clothing | 12% | 19% |
| Footwear | 16% | 19% |
| Toys | 4.7% | 19% |
| Machinery | 2.5% | 19% |
Transportation of goods from China to Germany via airfreight
Advantages of transporting goods from China to Germany by airfreight
Strong timeliness, can achieve 3-5 working days fast delivery, especially suitable for high-value electronic products, urgent and bulk cargo;
High security, relying on professional packaging, real-time tracking system and strict operating norms of airlines to ensure the safety of the whole process of cargo transport;
Flexible service, providing double clearing to the door, customised logistics solutions and national multi-port warehouse support, covering electronic products, machinery parts, clothing and other high-value or time-sensitive categories;
Controllable cost, through the optimisation of routes and transit paths, balancing speed and price, especially suitable for trade scenarios requiring urgent replenishment of goods or seizing the first opportunity in the market.
In addition, the professional customs clearance team can efficiently handle customs procedures in China and Germany, reducing the complexity of cross-border trade.
Cost of air transport
| destination | Cost (per kg) | Transportation time |
| Frankfurt Airport (FRA) | $8 | 2-4 days |
| Munich Airport (MUC) | $8.5 | 2-4 days |
| Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) | $8.7 | 2-4 days |
| Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) | $9.5 | 2-4 days |
| Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) | $7.5 | 2-4 days |
| DDP Air Freight Dual Clearance Tax Paid to Door | $7.5 | 10-12 days |
From China to Germany by courier
Excellent timeliness: the fastest 2-3 working days directly to the whole territory of Germany, to meet the urgent replenishment, sample sending and other high time demand;
Door-to-door service: the whole logistics is seamless, covering collection in China, air transport, customs clearance in Germany and final delivery, without the need to deal with transit links;
Full visual tracking: real-time update of logistics nodes (e.g. DHL/UPS/FedEx official system), accurately grasp the dynamics of goods;
Customs clearance specialisation: the courier company takes the initiative to declare and pre-audit the documents, and the German customs release efficiency is increased by more than 50% (especially for small parcels with a declared value of <150 euros, which is more convenient);
High security: standardised packaging, independent transport and priority processing mechanism, the cargo loss rate is less than 0.5%, especially suitable for electronic products, precision instruments and other high-value goods;
Flexible choice: provide multi-level services such as economic (5-7 days), standard (3-5 days) and express (1-3 days), balancing cost and timeliness.
Applicable scenarios: small cross-border e-commerce shipments, business documents, emergency spare parts, high value-added goods and personal parcels.