China’s record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025 is driven by rising exports to markets outside the US.
China ended 2025 with a record trade surplus of 8.51 trillion yuan (almost 1.2 trillion dollars or R$6.5 trillion), despite the impact of trade tariffs from the United States, which led the Chinese to shift their focus to markets outside the US, show official data published this Wednesday (14/01).
The pressure exerted on Chinese companies to diversify their activities beyond the world’s largest consumer market, focusing on Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, bore fruit, protecting the economy from American tariffs.
Customs data shows that Beijing’s global surplus increased by 20% from the previous year, which recorded a surplus of $992 billion. Exports in 2025 totaled $3.7 trillion and imports $2.58 trillion, according to government data.
Beijing has prioritized trade as a driver of growth in the face of a prolonged slump in the property market and weak domestic demand.
The record surplus is likely to upset foreign markets, already concerned about China’s trade practices and their own dependence on Chinese goods. “China’s economy remains extraordinarily competitive,” said HSBC’s chief Asia economist, Fred Neumann.
China will open up further in 2026
Trade in 2025 surpassed 45 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) for the first time, said Vice Customs Minister Wang Jun, adding that it was a new record.
“Some countries have politicized trade issues and limited high-tech exports to China. If they hadn’t done so, we would have imported more,” he said, without directly referring to Trump’s tariffs.
However, “with more diverse trading partners, the ability [da China] of resisting risks has been significantly improved”, said the minister.
Wang said the Chinese market will open further in 2026, and economists agree this is likely to happen.
“We continue to expect exports to act as a major driver of growth in 2026,” said Jacqueline Rong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas.
Originally published by DW on 01/14/2026
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2026/01/15/china-tem-superavit-recorde-apesar-de-tarifas-de-trump/
