China’s trade surplus hits record of almost US$1 trillion in 2024, increasing tensions with the US days before Trump’s inauguration and his promise of punitive tariffs
China’s trade surplus with the rest of the world reached a record of almost US$1 trillion in 2024, according to official data released this Monday, just a week before Donald Trump assumes the US presidency with a promise to impose punitive tariffs to its biggest economic rival.
China’s trade surplus of US$992 billion, more than a third of it with the United States, is likely to increase tensions with Washington and other trading partners, which have resisted the rise in Chinese exports this year.
Trump, who will be sworn in as US president on January 20, returned to the White House promising to impose tariffs of up to 60% on Chinese goods and an across-the-board tariff of 20% on all US trading partners.
China’s exports grew 10.7% year-on-year in December in dollar terms, according to Chinese customs data, while imports rose 1%, beating the average forecast from Reuters analysts, who had expected a 7.3% rise. in exports and a 1.5% drop in imports, respectively.
In November, exports had grown 6.7% compared to the previous year, while imports fell 3.9%.
China’s trade surplus with the US rose 6.9% in 2024 compared with the previous year to $361.03 billion, according to Chinese customs data.
Analysts at Barclays said the double-digit growth in exports indicated that Chinese manufacturers were “accelerating” shipments to get ahead of potential Trump tariffs.
With information from Financial Times*
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/01/13/dragao-dourado-quebra-recorde-com-superavit-de-us-1-tri/
