China on Wednesday reported a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, reports Reuters. This was due to booming exports to non-US markets as producers looked to diversify away from the pressures of the Trump administration.
A push by policymakers for Chinese firms to diversify beyond the world’s top consumer market by shifting focus to Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America paid dividends, cushioning the economy against US tariffs and intensifying trade, technology and geopolitical frictions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.
China’s full-year trade surplus came in at $1.189 trillion—a figure on par with the GDP of a top-20 economy globally like Saudi Arabia—customs data showed on Wednesday, having broken the trillion-dollar ceiling for the first time in November.