BERLIN -- For the sixth year in a row, China was Germany's most important trading partner in 2021, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Friday.

Total foreign trade revenues between Germany and China increased by 15.1 percent year-on-year, as goods worth 245.4 billion euros ($279.1 billion) were traded between the countries in 2021, according to preliminary results by Destatis.

The Netherlands and the United States followed second and third, with trade revenues of 206.1 billion euros and 194.1 billion euros, respectively, according to Destatis. After the slumps in the first COVID-19 crisis year of 2020, growing by 20.1 and 13.4 percent, respectively.

"China's importance for German imports is growing steadily," Destatis noted. In 1980, China was still ranked 35th among the most important importing countries, and by 1990 it already jumped to 14th position.

Since 2015, China has been Germany's most important country for imports, according to Destatis. Goods worth 141.7 billion euros were imported from China in 2021, an increase of 20.8 percent year-on-year.

The United States was the biggest customer country for German exports in 2021, unchanged since 2015, according to Destatis. China and France followed second and third.