Trade gap rises to nearly $1.2 trillion as tariffs see exporters pivot to new markets.By News AgenciesPublished On 14 Jan 202614 Jan 2026Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareChina’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 itemsend 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”. Advertisement Strong global demand for computer chips and other devices, and the materials used to make them, were among categories that supported China’s exports, analysts said.In December, China’s exports climbed 6.6 percent from the year before in dollar terms, better than economists’ estimates and higher than November’s 5.9 percent year-on-year increase. Imports in December were up 5.7 percent year-on-year, compared with November’s 1.9 percent.China’s trade surplus surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time in November, as the gap reached $1.08 trillion in the first 11 months of last year.Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, said China’s record trade surplus puts it on par with the gross domestic product (GDP) of a top 20 global economy.“It is set to help China achieve its growth target of around 5 percent when the GDP data is published next week,” said Song.Economists expect exports will continue to support China’s economy this year, despite the ongoing trade friction and geopolitical tensions.“We continue to expect exports to act as a big growth driver in 2026,” said Jacqueline Rong, chief China eco …
