Overview
- China’s total goods trade reached 45.47 trillion yuan in 2025, a 3.8% increase, according to Vice Customs Minister Wang Jun.
- Exports rose 5.5% to about $3.8 trillion while imports were flat near $2.6 trillion, pushing the annual surplus to a record just under $1.2 trillion.
- December readings topped forecasts, with exports up 6.6% year over year and imports up 5.7%.
- A late-October summit led to a temporary cut in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 47% from 57% under a deal running through 2026, with a longer-term settlement still to be worked out.
- Domestic headwinds persist, including weak consumption, high youth unemployment, demographic aging, and property-sector debt, and China’s bilateral trade with the U.S. shrank in 2025 with exports down 20% and imports down 14.6%.