China announced a record trade surplus for 2025, despite slower trade with the U.S. due to Trump tariffs, with exports to ASEAN, Africa, and Latin America rising to offset the decline.
On 14 Jan 2026 GMT+7, China's Customs Office announced a record trade surplus for 2025 at $1.19 trillion USD, about 41.6 trillion baht, marking the first time China’s annual trade surplus exceeded $1 trillion despite tariff and trade policy pressures from U.S. President Donald Trump.
A spokesman for China’s Customs Office said the figure surpassed the previous record of about $993 billion USD in 2024, acknowledging a clear weakening in trade with the U.S. but noting it was offset by increased exports to Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.
Wang Jun, Deputy Director of China’s Customs Office, stated that this year’s trade figures represent a special, hard-earned achievement amid global trade challenges, highlighting growth in exports of green technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.
Analysts noted that China’s massive trade surplus reflects strong global demand for Chinese goods, while the domestic economy slowed due to a property crisis and rising debt, causing imports to increase by only 0.5% over the past year.
Source: Reuters