WTO data shows that China has overtaken Germany as the world's biggest exporter in the first half of 2009.

In the first 6 months, China's total export volume amounted to 521.7 billion U.S. dollars, while Germany’s was 521.6 billion U.S. dollars.

China won the victory with a slight advantage, as Patrick Low, the chief economist from WTO put it: "The competition is so tense."

It's hard to tell who will win the race at the end of the year. The result depends more on the exchange rate in the coming months than on the export volume. Currently, the strong euro is in favor of Germany's export, according to Patrick.

By People's Daily Online