China's trade surplus hits record ahead of Trump tariffs
The Chinese economy ended 2024 with a record trade surplus that approached one trillion dollars. In December alone, China's exports amounted to about $336 billion CAD, and its trade surplus was $100 billion CAD, surpassing the previous high figures from the pandemic period.
According to the Associated Press, Chinese exports reached $336 billion CAD in December 2024, a 10.7% increase from the previous year. This increase was partly due to actions by Chinese factories that intensified orders ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. President (scheduled for January 20 at noon Eastern Time). Trump has openly stated plans to impose additional tariffs on goods from China.
China with a trade record, wanted to act before Trump
Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, suggested to Bloomberg that exporters likely expedited shipments in anticipation of a possible trade war in 2025, aiming to avoid the impact of future tariff increases. He emphasized that the key factors to watch are the policies emerging from Washington in the coming weeks and how Beijing chooses to respond politically.
The outcome of Chinese exports in December (10.7%) exceeded economists' expectations, who had forecasted a growth of 7.3%. Imports also surprised, rising by 1% to $231 billion CAD, even though a decline was anticipated in this area.
Shanghai as a symbol of record trade turnover
As a result, China recorded a record trade surplus of nearly one trillion dollars (CAD 992 billion) for 2024. The value of shipped orders continued to rise until the end of the year, surpassing the previous record of 2022 during the pandemic period.
The Shanghai port symbolized the strength of Chinese exports last year. According to Bloomberg, in 2024, it was the largest transhipment port globally, handling the equivalent of more than 50 million shipping containers.
December was also a record month for Chinese exports to the USA, reaching nearly $49 billion CAD (a 15.6% increase year-on-year), and for the entire year - $525 billion CAD.
