For total exports and imports to a country, it makes no difference. For country/country pairs, it changes things. For example, a big chunk of the US trade deficit with China should be reassigned to Japan.
There is a Japanese proverb you may have heard of called "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down." There are a few ways to spin it, but they all suggest not being that nail. Making China be that nail instead? That's like triple bonus points. (China and Japan have a... storied relationship with each other.)