China’s trade surplus surpassed $US1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in the 10 months to October, reaching the milestone even earlier than the record-breaking sum recorded in 2025.
According to Reuters, these data emerge prior to upcoming discussions in China next week between Chinese President Xi Jinping and American leader Donald Trump at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Exports jumped 35.2 per cent year-on-year to $US412.3 billion in October, according to the General Administration of Customs, while imports expanded 41.6 per cent to $US307.1 billion.
The trade boom provides Beijing with an economic lifeline as domestic activity faces persistent headwinds from a prolonged downturn in the property sector.
“Exporters have been the key driving force behind China’s economy this year,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote.
“I expect they will continue to perform well in the foreseeable future,” Zhang said, supplementing his remarks by stating that he did not anticipate any major shifts in China’s macroeconomic policy direction throughout the remainder of the year.
The export surge has been propelled by soaring global demand for artificial intelligence-related products, including computer chips, data centre servers, and networking equipment.
China is well on track to surpass the record $US1.2 trillion surplus reached last year, when the $US1 trillion threshold was crossed in November.
However, the export expansion has intensified trade frictions with major economies, as foreign trading partners argue that floods of lower-cost Chinese goods harm local manufacturing sectors.
Chinese exports to the United States grew 32.9 per cent last month, presenting an unwelcome development for Washington.
Xi and Trump have maintained a shaky truce following a fierce trade war, agreeing recently to extend the arrangement ahead of bilateral discussions held in Washington in September.
The APEC meeting in Shenzhen—scheduled for November 18 to 19—will likely feature another face-to-face meeting between the pair, alongside a potential trilateral discussion alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ahead of the summit, top Chinese and US officials held tetchy discussions on Friday.
American representatives stressed “the importance of China fully and immediately implementing its commitments” and highlighted “concerns about recent Chinese actions,” according to the US Treasury Department.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng expressed “serious concerns over recent economic and trade restrictive measures imposed by the United States,” according to a state media report.
Despite these tensions, the countries agreed to an artificial intelligence dialogue and tariff cuts on US exports such as agricultural goods, wood, and cosmetics.
Trade frictions with the European Union have similarly escalated. Data from October showed China’s trade surplus with the 27-nation bloc swelled to $US310.7 billion in January-October, up from $US241.6 billion during the same period last year.
“Trade frictions with the EU have continued to broaden in recent weeks,” Nguyen Hoang Nam of Capital Economics wrote.
Steps taken by Brussels to stem import flows, including two-euro fees on packages entering the bloc, “so far cover only a small portion of China’s exports and are unlikely to have much impact on the economy,” Nguyen said.
Analysts note that Beijing relies heavily on exports to achieve its official growth target of 4.5 to 5.0 per cent for this year, which represents its lowest goal in decades.
Domestic consumption remains sluggish, with inflation data released on Monday showing figures continuing to fall short of the official target of about 2 per cent.
