China’s trade surplus has topped $1 trillion for the 11-month period ending November, breaking the full-year 2024 record, amid warning of decoupling from the European Commission (EC) to protect the European domestic industries.
China recorded a trade surplus of $1.1 trillion in the 11 months ending November as compared to the full-year period of 2024 of $992.1 billion.
Its exports in November rebounded strongly by 5.9 percent from a 1.1 percent decline in October, according to data released on Dec. 8 by China’s General Administration of Customs.
As exports to the US, its largest exporter, continue to plunge, China compensated for the fall in US exports from the EU, its second largest exporter by bloc.
It recorded a 20 percent jump in trade surplus to the EU at $266.8 billion for the 11-month period ending November.
China’s exports to the US in November plunged by 28.6 percent from a year earlier, its 8th consecutive month of decline, after raising tariffs on Chinese goods.
The US’ trade balance with China has not been released.
In 2024, China enjoyed the largest trade surplus with the US at $361.1 billion.
While China’s exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) slowed to 8.2 percent in November, exports to the Africa region, Latin American, and Australia recorded a double-digit percentage increase.
Shipments to the EU continue to expand by 14.8 percent, with France taking in 17.5 percent more Chinese goods.
While China is the world’s largest exporter and enjoys record surplus, it imported far less from its global trading partners, with total imports increasing by 1.9 percent to $218.7 billion in November.
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to address China’s massive trade gap during a visit to the country last week.
Macron indicated that he had discussed this issue with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EC.
“I told them that, if they did not respond, we, Europeans, would be forced, in the coming months, to take strong measures and to decouple, like the United States, such as customs duties on Chinese products,” Macron said in an interview with local newspaper Les Echos, published on Dec 7.
The EU has raised concerns on China’s overcapacity in manufacturing through subsidies in exports to drive its economic growth as the Chinese property sector faces a meltdown and foreign investment in China has plunged to a record low oc 27.1 percent in 2024 in more than a decade since 2008.
European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič warned at the Brussels Economic Security Forum in June, “As a major global player, China has a responsibility to match its support for multilateralism with full respect for the rules meant to ensure fairness and equity.”
“Hence, our calls on China to address systemic issues affecting Europe and other partners, such as overcapacity, subsidies, market access barriers, critical minerals export restrictions, investment conditions, and trade diversion.”
“We value the EU-China economic and trade relationship. However, China’s impressive rise must not come at the expense of the European economy,” Šefčovič added.
