China trade surplus tops $1tn in first 10 months

China's trade surplus passed $1 trillion in the first 10 months of 2026, the General Administration of Customs said Tuesday, putting the country on course to exceed last year's record total.

Exports rose 35.2% year on year in October to $412.3 billion, while imports grew 41.6% to $307.1 billion. The figures brought the January-October surplus to $1.04 trillion, compared with a record $1.2 trillion for all of last year, when the $1 trillion mark was reached in November.

Export growth has been supported in part by global demand for artificial intelligence-related products, including computer chips, data centre servers and networking equipment. It has also increased tension with trading partners concerned about Chinese goods affecting local competition.

Exports to the United States rose 32.9% in October, customs data showed. China's surplus with the European Union reached $310.7 billion in January-October, up from $241.6 billion in the same period last year.

The data came before an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen from November 18 to 19. Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said exporters had been “the key driving force behind China's economy this year” and expected them to continue performing well.