HONG KONG — China\u2019s trade surplus surged to a record of almost $1.2 trillion in 2025, the government said Wednesday, as exports to other countries made up for slowing shipments to the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs. <\/p>\n
China’s exports rose 5.5% for the whole of last year to $3.77 trillion, customs data showed, as Chinese automakers and other manufacturers expanded into markets across the globe. Imports flatlined at $2.58 trillion. The 2024 trade surplus was over $992 billion.<\/p>\n
In December, China\u2019s exports climbed 6.6% from the year before in dollar terms, better than economists\u2019 estimates and higher than November\u2019s 5.9% year-on-year increase<\/a>. Imports in December were up 5.7% year-on-year, compared to November\u2019s 1.9%.<\/p>\n China\u2019s trade surplus surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time in November, when the trade surplus reached $1.08 trillion in the first 11 months of last year.<\/p>\n Economists expect exports will continue to support China\u2019s economy this year, despite trade friction and geopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe continue to expect exports to act as a big growth driver in 2026,\u201d said Jacqueline Rong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas.<\/p>\n While China\u2019s exports to the U.S. have fallen sharply for most of last year since Trump returned to office and escalated his trade war<\/a> with the world\u2019s second-largest economy, that decline has been largely offset by shipments to other markets<\/a> in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.<\/p>\n For the whole of 2025, China\u2019s exports to the U.S. fell 20%. In contrast, exports to Africa surged 26%. Those to Southeast Asian countries jumped 13%; to the European Union 8%, and to Latin America, 7%.<\/p>\n Strong global demand for computer chips and other devices and the materials needed to make them were among categories that supported China\u2019s exports, analysts said. Car exports also grew last year.<\/p>\n China’s strong exports have helped keep its economy growing at an annual rate close to its official target of about 5%<\/a>. But that has triggered alarm in countries that fear a flood of cheap imports are damaging local industries.<\/p>\n China faces a \u201csevere and complex\u201d external trade environment in 2026, Wang Jun, vice minister of China\u2019s customs administration, told reporters in Beijing. But he said China\u2019s \u201cforeign trade fundamentals remain solid.\u201d<\/p>\n The head of the International Monetary Fund last month called for China to fix its economic imbalances<\/a> and speed up its shift from reliance on exports by boosting domestic demand and investment. <\/p>\n A prolonged property downturn in China after the authorities cracked down on excessive borrowing, triggering defaults by many developers, is still weighing on consumer confidence and domestic demand.<\/p>\n