China's trade surplus passes $1 trillion as AI exports surge
Customs data show October exports up 35.2% to $412.3bn and a $1.04 trillion surplus for January to October, ahead of Xi-Trump talks at APEC.
China's trade surplus passed $1 trillion in October, customs data showed on Tuesday, a milestone reached earlier in the year than in 2024, as exports of artificial intelligence hardware drove shipments abroad.
Exports rose 35.2% from a year earlier to $412.3 billion and imports rose 41.6% to $307.1 billion, according to General Administration of Customs figures reported by Euronews. The surplus for January to October reached $1.04 trillion. China is on course to exceed the record $1.2 trillion posted last year, when the $1 trillion mark was crossed in November.
Reuters reported the same milestone in a headline that credited the AI boom with powering exports.
Demand for chips, data centre servers and networking equipment contributed to the surge, Euronews reported. Shipments to the United States rose 32.9% in October. The surplus with the European Union reached $310.7 billion in the first 10 months, against $241.6 billion in the same period of 2024.
Export growth has become central to Beijing's effort to meet its official expansion target of 4.5-5.0% this year, the lowest in decades, while household spending stays weak. Inflation data on Monday remained below the official target of about 2%.
"Exporters have been the key driving force behind China's economy this year," Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in comments reported by Euronews. He said he expected them to keep performing well.
The figures arrive before President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. Euronews reported the two may hold talks there, possibly alongside Russia's Vladimir Putin. They extended a truce in their trade war this year after talks in Washington in September.
Brussels has come under pressure from European industry to shield it from Chinese shipments. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao agreed in Beijing last month to limit exports of hybrid vehicles to Europe, Euronews reported.
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