China Balance of Trade

Last Release

Feb 28, 2025

Actual

170.52

Units In

USD HML

104.84

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Apr 12, 2025

Time to Release

1 Months 2 Days 1 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
170.52 Feb 2025	-61.99 Feb 2020	17.1 USD HML	1981-2025	General Administration of Customs

Since 1995, China has been recording consistent trade surpluses which from 2004 to 2009 has increased 10 times. In 2019, China posted a trade surplus of USD 421.9 billion, the biggest since 2016, as exports increased 0.5 percent and imports fell 2.7 percent on weak domestic demand and trade tensions with the US. The biggest trade surpluses were recorded with the US, Hong Kong, the EU - in particular the Netherlands, the UK, Poland, Spain, Italy and Belgium - India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, the UAE, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia. The largest deficits were recorded with Taiwan, Australia, South Korea, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia, Oman, Chile and Russia.

Latest Updates

China's trade surplus surged to USD 170.52 billion in January-February 2025, up from USD 125.16 billion in the same period a year earlier, exceeding market expectations of USD 142.4 billion. The sharp increase was largely driven by an unexpected 8.4% year-on-year tumble in imports, the steepest decline since July 2023, amid weakening domestic demand at the start of the year. Meanwhile, exports grew 2.3%, falling short of the expected 5.0% and slowing significantly from December’s 10.7% surge. The trade surplus with the US reached USD 49.05 billion, with exports and imports rising by 2.3% and 2.4%, respectively. For 2024, China recorded a surplus of USD 992.16 billion, as exports grew 5.9% to USD 3.58 trillion, while imports rose at a more modest 1.1% to USD 2.59 trillion. China's customs agency releases combined trade data for January and February to mitigate distortions from the varying dates of the Lunar New Year, which occurred between January 28 and February 4 this year.