China’s trade surplus reached a record high of nearly $1 trillion

China’s General Administration of Customs announced that last year the country exported $3.58 trillion worth of goods and services and imported $2.59 trillion. The resulting surplus of $990 billion broke China’s previous record of $838 billion in 2022.

This was reported by The New York Times.

Adjusted for inflation, China’s trade surplus in 2024 significantly exceeded that of any country in the world over the past century.

According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, China now produces about a third of the world’s manufactured goods. This is more than the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and the United Kingdom combined.

China has been boosting its exports through huge investments in education, factories, and infrastructure, while maintaining fairly high tariffs and other barriers to imports. Universities annually produce more graduates in engineering and related specialties than the total number of graduates in all specialties of American colleges and universities.

As a reminder, US President-elect Donald Trump has announced his intention to impose a 25% duty on goods from Canada.

Tags: China, export