9 December 2025

44% of global air trade touches China in 2025, up from 36% in 2019 and driven by low-value e-commerce growth

Global air trade is shifting rapidly, especially this year. Looking back at 2019, it’s striking to see how strongly China has consolidated its role in global air trade:

🔼 44% of all global air trade touches China now, up sharply from 36% in 2019 (and I remember 33% from a similar analysis back in 2015/16).

⏫ China grew ~7%(!) between 2019-2025, compared to ~4% for global volumes.