High value goods mostly, the same thing the US builds. China is a powerhouse of simpler things (though improving); Germany does the complex stuff (automobiles,

High value goods mostly, the same thing the US builds. China is a powerhouse of simpler things (though improving); Germany does the complex stuff (automobiles, machine tools, bullet trains, etc.) On a related note, US is also a manufacturing powerhouse still. Its manufacturing GDP per capita is only about 20% below Germany - and absolutely it is the largest in the world by far (using nominal conversion rates). It though is producing far higher value per employee than Germany, and astronomically higher than China.