China Ends 2025 With Record $1.2 Trillion Trade Surplus

Containers at the Longtan port in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, on Jan. 14, 2026. AFP via Getty ImagesChina’s trade surplus hit a fresh record of nearly $1.2 trillion last year, as Chinese factories diverted an influx of goods facing levies in the United States to other global markets amid weak demand within the country.Total exports from the Asian economic giant expanded 6.6 percent year-on-year in December in dollar-denominated terms, according to data released Wednesday from China’s General Administration of Customs. The surge marked the fastest growth in three months and nearly doubled the 3 percent increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.