Customs data released Monday show China’s annual trade surplus exceeded $1 trillion for the first time on record. The milestone came even as shipments to the United States fell sharply this year under the weight of U.S. tariffs.
Overall exports in November were 5.9% higher than a year earlier, but exports to the United States plunged by roughly 29% over the same period. Chinese imports rose only modestly last month, leaving a very large gap between exports and imports for the year.
The steep decline in U.S.-bound exports followed a campaign of tariffs imposed by President Trump aimed at discouraging imports from China. At one point this spring, import taxes reached as high as 145%, effectively stalling trade between the two countries; those duties have since been lowered to about 47.5%, still a significant impediment.
To offset weaker sales to the U.S. market, Chinese exporters have been redirecting shipments to other regions, increasing trade with customers across Europe, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere in Asia. The shift in trade patterns helped push the overall surplus to an unprecedented level despite bilateral tensions with the United States.