key sectors such as electric vehicles<\/a>, as a sign of the country\u2019s durability, even with exports to the US dropping steeply as the world\u2019s two largest economies engaged in a tit-for-tat trade confrontation throughout last year.\n <\/p>\n\n China \u201cforged ahead\u201d despite facing a \u201ccomplex and challenging external environment,\u201d Wang Jun, deputy administrator of the customs bureau, told a press briefing on Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n
\n Exports of high-tech goods, a category including high-end machine tools and industrial robots, increased by 13% year on year, while exports for electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products, like solar panels, were up 27%.\n <\/p>\n
\n Instead of seeing exports sink as the US and China ratcheted up tariffs on each other\u2019s goods, China has driven its products deeper into other markets around the world \u2013 building on the country\u2019s global economic footprint and strategies Chinese companies developed during Trump\u2019s first trade war.\n <\/p>\n
\n Exports to regions beyond the US saw significant increases, with the value of goods sent to Africa up 26.5%, Association of Southeast Asian nations up 14%, the European Union up 9% and Latin America up 8% year-on-year.\n <\/p>\n
\n That\u2019s caused frictions with major trading partners across the world, who have raised concerns about what they see as unfair trade practices and an influx of Chinese products hurting their key domestic industries, impacting jobs and threatening economic security.\n <\/p>\n
\n During a recent visit to Beijing, French President Emmanuel Macron described his country\u2019s mounting trade imbalance with China as unsustainable, echoing European policy makers who have urged Beijing to increase domestic consumption and curb exports.\n <\/p>\n
\n Nonetheless, strong exports throughout last year provided Beijing with the required confidence to stand toe-to-toe with the US during months-long trade negotiations \u2013 which came to a head in October, when Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met and agreed to a truce that whittles new tariffs on Chinese goods down to 20%. Tariffs had briefly risen as high as 145% earlier that year.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Trucks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2026-01-12t104252z-1525053219-rc20mha9tobt-rtrmadp-3-china-appointment-trade.JPG\")
<\/p>\n
\n That truce has remained in place, though Trump on Monday said countries that do business with Iran will face a new 25% tariff \u2013 an announcement that could subject China, a key economic lifeline for the regime in Tehran, to elevated duties.\n <\/p>\n
\n Exporters are prepared for more frictions in the relationship to come, as Trump has made reducing dependence on China and bringing back American manufacturing a tenet of his administration.\n <\/p>\n
\n Analysts have questioned whether China can maintain its level of exports to the rest of the world in the year ahead \u2013 especially as countries increasingly explore ways to protect domestic markets from what\u2019s commonly called Chinese \u201cindustrial overcapacity.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n China\u2019s reliance on exports as a growth engine is also tied to challenges at home, where the economy is dragged by an ongoing property sector crisis.\n <\/p>\n
\n Authorities have struggled to boost domestic consumption and achieve a desired model, in which the country\u2019s vast manufacturing sector is powered by strong demand both at home and abroad.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beijing \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 China recorded the world\u2019s biggest ever trade surplus in 2025, capping off a year in which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,76529,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-232641","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-hnk","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2025-05-19t111332z-1841916239-rc2ukeax13kj-rtrmadp-3-usa-trump-tariffs-china.JPG\")
<\/p>\n