China has forged ahead of the US to become the world’s largest goods trader.

The country has achieved this accolade for the first time and was constantly ahead of its economic rival throughout the whole of last year.

The value of China’s imports and exports grew to $3.57 trillion (£2.17 trillion), an increase of 7.6 percentage points on the previous year.

Meanwhile, the US recorded $3.57 trillion in the 11 months between January to November 2013. Although the exact yearly figure won’t be released until next month, it is extremely unlikely that China will be caught.

Zheng Yuesheng, chief statistician of the customs administration said: “This is a milestone for our nation’s foreign trade development.”

Mr Zheng added that he anticipated 2014 to be an even stronger year for the country, citing structural reforms, lower commodity prices and a recovering world economy as reasons for his prediction. 

China’s success story has evolved over a relatively short period of time. Its trade value has consistently doubled every four years for the past three decades.