The first bar chart illustrates the amount of money from goods imported and exported from China to Australia between 1998 and 2004, while the second bar chart presents the breakdown of goods imported from China, categorised by five different types, from 2003 to 2004.
Overall, there was a steady increase in the values of goods imported and exported between China and Australia throughout the period, with the value of imports consistently exceeding that of exports. Additionally, the cost of all product types stemming from China experienced an upward trend over the period, except for clothes, whose figure remained unchanged.
Regarding the first chart, in 1998, the value of goods imported from China stood at $20 billion, more than twice that of exports, starting at $9 billion. Over the following six years, imports climbed gradually, accounting for $40 billion at the end of the period, nearly double the figure in the beginning. Similarly, but to a lesser extent, the cost of goods exported from China steadily grew from $9 billion to $30 billion in 2004, despite representing a triple increase.
Moving on to the second chart, in 2003, computers and furniture led the value of imports from China, each worthed $5 billion, followed closely by clothes, at $4 billion. By contrast, telecommunication and toy/sports equipment were much lower, valued at $3 billion and $2 billion, respectively. However, by 2004, the value of toy/sports equipment recorded a remarkable growth to approximately $7 billion, demonstrating the highest disparity. The gap was narrowed in telecommunication equipment, whose figure climbed to $8 billion, surpassing computers to become the most expensive goods at the end of the period. Computers and furniture, on the other hand, showed a slight upward trend, each ending at exactly $6 billion. Finally, clothes remained unchanged at $4 billion in 2004.