China logs record $1.2T trade surplus in 2025
China on Wednesday reported a robust export performance for 2025, ending the year with a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion, even as producers braced for three more years of a Trump administration determined to curb the manufacturing powerhouse by redirecting U.S. orders to other markets.
Customs data released on Wednesday showed China’s full-year trade surplus reached $1.189 trillion — a figure comparable to the GDP of a top-20 global economy such as Saudi Arabia — after surpassing the $1 trillion mark for the first time in November, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Beijing’s resilience in the face of renewed tariff tensions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last January has encouraged Chinese firms to shift their focus toward Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America to offset higher U.S. duties.
As Beijing increasingly relies on exports to counter a prolonged property sector slump and sluggish domestic demand, the record-breaking surplus risks further unsettling economies already concerned about China’s trade practices, industrial overcapacity and growing dependence on key Chinese products.
“The momentum for global trade growth looks to be insufficient, and the external environment for China’s foreign trade development remains severe and complex,” Wang Jun, a vice minister at China’s customs administration, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
However, Wang noted that “with more diversified trading partners, China’s ability to withstand risks has been significantly enhanced,” adding that “the fundamentals for China’s foreign trade remain solid.”
Outbound shipments from the world’s second-largest economy grew 6.6% in value terms year on year in December, accelerating from a 5.9% increase in November.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 3.0% rise. Imports climbed 5.7%, following a 1.9% gain the previous month and beating expectations for a 0.9% increase.
China’s yuan held steady after the upbeat data, while equity investors welcomed the better-than-expected figures. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index and the blue-chip CSI300 index both rose more than 1% in morning trading.
China’s monthly trade surpluses exceeded $100 billion seven times last year, partly supported by a weaker yuan, compared with just once in 2024. The data underscore that Trump’s measures have had limited impact on China’s overall global trade, even if shipments to the U.S. have been curtailed.
Exports to the U.S. fell 20% in dollar terms in 2025, while imports from the world’s largest economy declined 14.6%. Chinese manufacturers compensated by expanding in other markets, with exports to Africa surging 25.8%, shipments to the ASEAN bloc of Southeast Asian nations rising 13.4%, and exports to the European Union increasing 8.4%.
On Tuesday, Trump said he believed China could open its markets to American goods, after warning a day earlier of potential 25% tariffs on countries trading with Iran — a move that risked reviving tensions with Beijing, Tehran’s largest trading partner.
Economists expect China to continue gaining global market share this year, aided by Chinese companies establishing overseas production hubs that allow lower-tariff access to the United States and the European Union, as well as strong demand for lower-end chips and other electronics.
A key pillar of Beijing’s global industrial ambitions, China’s auto sector saw total exports rise 19.4% to 5.79 million vehicles last year, with pure electric vehicle shipments jumping 48.8%. China is expected to remain the world’s largest auto exporter for a third consecutive year after overtaking Japan in 2023.
At the same time, Beijing has signaled growing recognition that it must moderate industrial exports to sustain long-term success. The leadership has become increasingly aware of economic imbalances and the reputational challenges created by outsized export volumes.
Following November’s trillion-dollar surplus figures, Chinese Premier Li Qiang was quoted last week on national television as calling for “proactively expanding imports and promoting the balanced development of imports and exports.”
China has also scrapped subsidy-like export tax rebates for its solar industry, a long-standing source of friction with the EU. In addition, lawmakers last month passed revisions to the Foreign Trade Law after two readings instead of the usual three, signaling to members of a major trans-Pacific trade pact that China is willing to move away from industrial subsidies toward freer and more open trade.
Despite a year-long tariff truce reached by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October, U.S. duties on Chinese goods remain at 47.5%, well above the roughly 35% level analysts say allows Chinese firms to export to the US profitably.
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