We read in the press about the importance of Wal-Mart’s relationship to China, and I thought it would be fun to run out some quick figures. Wal-Mart procurement in China has been flat at $9 billion over the last couple of years. Meanwhile, exports out of China have risen fast. In 2007, exports were up 25% to somewhere around $1.2 trillion. What is that, 0.75% of total exports? In general business terms, it is not a significant figure, and as a proportion it is shrinking over time. While Wal-Mart may be a significant customer to some individual suppliers, it is not nearly as significant to the economy as some might have you believe.

[Stepping away from the blog for a couple weeks, or will at least be blogging at low-impact levels...]

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