Import + export per unit GDP is a better measure.
2019 data:
North Korea: (207M+2.57B) / 18B = 15%
Japan: (153B + 168B) / 5118B = 6.3%
NK is more dependent on China, not less, which makes sense.
And Germany: (121B + 134B) / 3889 = 6.6%
About the same with Japan.
Neither side makes sense to me. Looking at export/import absolute value doesn't make sense. By these arguments North Korea is among the countries that are least dependent on China. That's just plain wrong...
If it's "how much this country contribute to China's economy", sure. 🧵 twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/…