China's trade surplus hit record $1.2 trillion in 2025

Last year's bruising trade war between Washington and Beijing -- which at one point saw reciprocal tariffs in the triple digits -- led to a 20 percent plunge year-on-year in China's exports to the United States, with imports falling 14.6 percent. But other trade partners more than filled the gap, increasing Chinese exports overall by 5.5 percent in 2025, while imports stayed flat in dollar terms. Shipments to the ASEAN group of Southeast Asian nations rose 13.4 percent year-on-year, while exports...