China has reported a record full-year trade surplus of US$1.2 trillion for 2025 despite United States President Donald Trump’s trade war.
This is the first time the trade surplus exceeded US$1.1 trillion, beating last year’s US$993 billion.
Despite exports to the U.S. falling 20%, they increased by 8.4% to the European Union (EU) and 13.5% to South-east Asia.
The American share of Chinese exports last year was 11.1%, down from 14.7% in 2024, reaching some of the lowest levels since the 1990s.
However, the loudest complaints about China’s surplus are expected to come from the E.U., which has yet to follow the U.S. in implementing broad-based tariffs. The bloc has called for Beijing to stimulate domestic demand and reduce its own barriers to manufactured imports.
While exports experienced significant growth, imports only increased by 0.5% due to the Chinese economy being weighed down by a property crisis and rising debt, leading to businesses being hesitant to invest and consumers being cautious about spending.
According to official data from the country’s customs administration, export goods grew 6.6% in December year-over-year.
That was more than the forecast from a Bloomberg poll of analysts of 3.1% and above November's growth rate of 5.9%.
Imports rose 5.7% in dollars last month on a year earlier, outpacing analysts' expectations of 0.9% and the previous months 1.9% increase.
The country’s monthly export surplus passed US$100 billion seven times last year, a sign that Trump’s tariff campaign had little impact on trade with the rest of the world.
Wang Jun, the deputy director of China's customs, said during a press conference on Wednesday that the figures were "extraordinary and hard-won" given the "profound changes" and challenges in global trade.
