China’s trade surplus ballooned to more than $1 trillion in October, official data showed on Tuesday (November 10, 2026), reaching the milestone even earlier than last year’s record-breaking sum.
Talks last month in Beijing between EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao ended with an agreement to limit exports of hybrid vehicles to Europe. Analysts say Beijing is relying heavily on exports to achieve its official growth target for this year of 4.5-5.0%, its lowest goal in decades.
However, the export boom has fuelled tensions with several key trading partners, who worry that floods of lower-cost Chinese goods are crowding out local competition. The lopsided shipments have put increasing pressure on Brussels to defend local industries from what critics call unfair competition from Chinese exports. Exports jumped 35.2% year-on-year to $412.3 billion last month, according to the General Administration of Customs, while imports expanded 41.6% to $307.1 billion. Exports to the United States surged 32.9% last month, the GAC data showed. Domestic consumption has been sluggish for several years, with data on Monday (November 9) showing inflation was still well short of the official target of around two percent.
Exports from the world’s second-largest economy have surged in recent months, driven in part by soaring global demand for artificial intelligence-related products including computer chips, data centre servers and networking equipment.
