China sees record $1.2 trillion trade surplus despite Trump's tariffs — What led to the robust growth?

China reported a record trade surplus on Wednesday, despite the US tariffs imposed by Donald Trump to restrict its exports to the United States. The surprise growth spurt led to a trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025.

Exports of Chinese goods to other countries increased last month, despite expectations of a slowdown, a feat given the high base of comparison from a year ago, when Trump's election win sparked a panicked front-loading of orders.

Outbound shipments from Beijing grew 6.6% in value terms year-over-year in December, compared with a 5.9% increase in November, which the world's second-largest economy posted.

According to the official data released Wednesday, the 6.6% gain in December was the quickest in three months.

“We expect export resilience to extend into this year, with exports remaining an important growth driver and partially offsetting weaker domestic demand,” Barclays Plc economists said in a report.

What led to China's $1.2 trillion trade surplus?

According to a report by Reuters, a push by Chinese policymakers to diversify China's exports to countries other than the US was one of the primary reasons why the trade surplus clocked a record.

China was able to cushion its economy against the US tariffs, as well as intensifying trade, technology and geopolitical frictions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. This was achieved by diversifying exports to Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, which yielded positive results.

The manufacturing giant'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.

For the entire year of 2025, China’s exports to the US decreased by 20%. In contrast, exports to Africa went up by 26%. Those to Southeast Asian countries jumped 13%; to the European Union, 8%, and to Latin America, 7%.

China's rare-earth exports in 2025 surged to their highest level since at least 2014, despite Beijing's efforts to curb shipments of several medium- to heavy-weight elements from April.

While exports have been robust in China, its years-long property slump and falling investment are restraining the country’s appetite for foreign goods. This has reduced imports and resulted in a bump in the trade surplus.

Deflation at home also led to depreciation of the yuan in inflation-adjusted terms, making Chinese products more appealing elsewhere.

The world's top agricultural importer purchased a record volume of soybeans in 2025, buoyed by a sharp increase in shipments from South America, as US pushed for its own agricultural exports.