Khaberni - China's enormous trade surplus exceeded one trillion dollars for the first time in 2025, according to official figures released on Monday, at a time when exports to the rest of the world offset a sharp decline in those directed to the United States.
The Chinese Customs Administration said that the country's positive trade balance with the rest of the world from January to November reached 1,080 billion dollars.
Zishun Huang from "Capital Economics" noted in a memo that "China's trade surplus this year surpassed that achieved last year, and we expect it to rise further next year."
He added, "The decline in exports towards the United States has been largely compensated by exporting to other markets" in November.
China's exports increased by 5.9% in November on an annual level, at a faster pace than expected, although they fell by 28.6% towards the United States alone during the same period, according to the Chinese Customs Administration.
The overall export figure is better than Bloomberg's predictions, which estimated a 4% increase.
This improvement comes after a 1.1% year-on-year decline in exports in October, the first since February when trade tensions with the United States were renewed.
- Local Consumption Slowdown -
Imports increased by 1.9% on an annual basis in November, a slower pace than the 3% increase expected by Bloomberg, indicating a slowdown in local consumption.
Qiu Zhang, head and chief economist at "Pinpoint Asset Management," noted in a memo that "the rebound in export growth in November contributed to easing the weakness in local demand," observing that "economic momentum slowed down in the fourth quarter, partly due to the ongoing weakness in the real estate sector."
China and the United States engaged in a sharp trade war in 2025 after Donald Trump's return to the White House.
However, a summit held between the American president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on October 30 in South Korea resulted in mutual measures that eased the tensions, albeit temporarily.
Exports have long been a key driver of the Chinese economy, while local consumption continues to suffer a recession, amid an ongoing debt crisis in the massive real estate sector. Additionally, China faces high unemployment rates among youth and rapidly aging population issues.
Chinese leaders, who aim to achieve a 5% gross growth rate this year, are scheduled to hold an important meeting this week dedicated to economic planning.
- Macron's Threat -
The value of exports to the United States reached 33.8 billion dollars in November, compared to 47.3 billion dollars during the same period last year.
Exports to the United States have been declining almost all year, but they have generally maintained their resilience.
From this perspective, China's European partners are particularly concerned about the influx of its products into their markets amidst the trade standoff with the United States.
They are exerting pressure on China to boost its local consumption.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron, who had just returned from China, threatened Beijing with imposing customs tariffs "very soon" if no steps are taken to reduce the growing trade deficit with the European Union.
He told the French newspaper "Les Echos" that the trade protection policy pursued by the Trump administration "increases our problems by significantly redirecting Chinese flows to our markets."
Additionally, the German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful is visiting China until Tuesday. Relations between Berlin and Beijing, strained by geopolitical disputes, have cooled further in recent months with escalating trade tensions between the European Union and China.
However, this has not prevented China from becoming Germany's top trading partner again this year instead of the United States.
