China’s trade surplus hits new heights in 2025 despite US tariff war

Trade gap rises to nearly $1.2 trillion as tariffs see exporters pivot to new markets.Published On 14 Jan 2026China’s trade surplus hit a new high of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025 despite the tariff war with the United States.Customs data released on Wednesday showed that Chinese exports rose by 5.5 percent last year to total $3.77 trillion. The data shows that increased trade with other countries across the globe made up for reduced trade with the US.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Is China’s economy stalling or transforming?list 2 of 4China’s trade surplus tops $1 trillion for first timelist 3 of 4How did China’s trade surplus hit $1 trillion?list 4 of 4How will Trump’s new 25% tariff impact Iran’s trading partners?end of listImports remained steady at $2.58 trillion, creating a trade surplus of $1.19 trillion. The gap stood at $992bn in 2024, before President Donald Trump launched his erratic trade policy actions.Facing aggressive tariffs in the US market, Chinese firms pivoted to customers in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin ⁠America and Europe.However, trade with ‌Russia dropped ‍for the first time ‍in five years, pulling back from a record level in 2024 on a slide in Russian demand for Chinese cars and a drop in the value of Chinese imports of Russian ⁠crude oil.China has provided a major economic lifeline to Russia as it navigates US and European ​sanctions levied due to its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.“The momentum for global trade growth looks to be insufficient, and the external environment for China’s foreign trade development remains severe and complex,” Wang Jun, a vice minister at China’s customs administration, said at a news briefing on Wednesday.But “with more diversified trading partners, (China’s) ability to withstand risks has been significantly enhanced,” Wang said, adding that the fundamentals ‍for China’s foreign trade remained “solid”.