HONG KONG (AP) — China’s trade surplus surged to a record of almost $1.2 trillion in 2025, the government said Wednesday, as exports picked up in December.
Customs data showed that China’s global surplus rose 20% from the previous year, with exports at $3.77 trillion and imports at $2.58 trillion. The 2024 trade surplus was $992 billion.
China’s exports for December were up 6.6% from the previous year, better than economists’ estimates and higher than November’s 5.9% year-on-year increase. Imports in December were up 5.7% year-on-year, compared to November’s 1.9%.
Economists expect exports will continue to support China’s economy this year, despite trade friction and geopolitical tensions.
“We continue to expect exports to act as a big growth driver in 2026,” said Jacqueline Rong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas.
While China’s exports to the U.S. have fallen sharply since President Donald Trump returned to office and escalated his trade war with the world’s second-largest economy, that decline has been largely offset by shipments to other markets in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.
Strong exports have helped keep China’s economy growing at an annual rate close to its official target of about 5%, but they have also triggered alarm in countries that fear a flood of cheap imports are damaging local industries.
The head of the International Monetary Fund last month called for China to fix its economic imbalances and speed up its shift from reliance on exports by boosting domestic demand and investment.
