China chases Germany; More parts for US sourced from Asia.(News)(Brief Article)

Byline: Lindsay Chappell

China could pass Germany as the United States' largest automotive trading partner outside of North America.

Chinese exporters shipped $2.8 billion worth of parts to the United States last year, half the volume of Germany.

China's parts exports were up from $2.2 billion in 2002 and analysts expect that US parts imports from China will continue to grow fast.

"China is already half the volume of Germany's parts exports to the US, and they've only been at it a few years," said Scott Merlis, an automotive analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners ...