China nears a new trade surplus record

China's exports in August 2026 grew by 25% compared to the same month last year, continuing the acceleration after July's 23.9% growth. Over the first eight months of the year, the country's trade surplus reached $805.5 billion.

These are the data from Chinese customs, as reported by Nikkei Asia and The Wall Street Journal.

China's imports in August also surged – up 28.2% year-on-year. At the same time, exports remained higher than imports, resulting in a trade surplus of $119.1 billion for the single month.

China's export growth pace came in above market expectations. One contributing factor was increased global demand for products linked to the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Shipments to the US sharply increased

Notably, in August, Chinese shipments to the US saw a significant rise – their value increased by 34.3% year-on-year. Meanwhile, export growth to the European Union was slower.

Among the products supporting China's foreign trade were semiconductors and data processing equipment. In certain technology categories, export value grew much faster than actual shipment volumes.

The high trade surplus remains one of the key sources of support for the Chinese economy amid soft domestic demand and problems in the real estate sector.

For the full year 2025, China's foreign trade surplus totaled around $1.2 trillion. Current figures indicate that the country is again heading toward a result of this scale if the strong export growth persists through the end of the year.

Sources: Nikkei Asia, The Wall Street Journal