The United States surpassed the European Union in the first 11 months of 2012 to become the largest buyer of Chinese exports, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry on Tuesday. The value of US trade with China increased by 8.2 percent year-on-year to reach $438.62 billion, according to the ministry. At the same time, China‘s exports to the US increased by 8.2 percent to $319.4 billion, and its imports from the US went up by 8.1 percent to $119.2 billion.