China released customs data that indicated its top trading partner in 2003 was Japan. China-Japan trade rose 31.1 percent year-on-year to US$133.6 billion, according to the statistics. Japan has been China's top trading partner for the last 11 years.
China's trade with the US was the second-highest, coming in at US$126.3 billion, an increase of 30 percent from the previous year.
China's third-largest trade partner, and the fastest-growing trade partner in the top three, was the EU. China-EU trade jumped 44.4 percent from the previous to US$125.2 billion.
A breakdown of import and export figures was not released.