China’s Year-to-Date Trade Surplus Passes $1 Trillion in October

China’s goods exports soared by 35.2% in October from a year earlier, exceeding expectations and pushing the country’s year-to-date trade surplus past $1 trillion.

Surplus Narrows as Imports Jump

The monthly surplus dropped to $105.3 billion in October, which is the lowest level since April, according to LSEG data. The year-to-date figure reached $1.04 trillion.

Imports climbed by 41.6% in October, jumping from 31% in September and beating estimates for a 32% rise polled by Reuters. Tianchen Xu, a senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said that demand for tech-related goods, critical minerals such as copper, and energy supplies drove the import surge.

Imports of high-tech products surged 72% in value terms year-over-year. Crude oil, LNG, and coal imports grew by about 41%, 50%, and 60% respectively, by value.

In yuan terms, the General Administration of Customs reported total goods imports and exports rose 20% year-on-year to 44.81 trillion yuan for the first ten months of 2026. Integrated circuit exports soared 137.1% year-on-year to $39.59 billion in October.

Trading Partners Call for Balanced Economy and Domestic Demand

Trading partners have increased calls for Beijing to boost domestic demand and balance its economy. Household consumption remains soft.

Exports to the U.S. rose 32.9% by value, while imports grew nearly 35%, leaving a $32.7 billion surplus. Washington and Beijing extended their trade truce by two months to January.

The European Union reached an agreement with Beijing last month to limit imports of Chinese hybrid vehicles over the next few years. China’s shipments to the bloc grew 24.4% while imports dropped over 4% in October, widening the surplus to $33.4 billion.

Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former U.S. Treasury official, said that Europe remains far from a coherent trade and industrial policy regarding automobiles or overall trade with China.

He noted that the agreed cap of 350,000 imported cars per year sits above the 300,000 hybrids China exported to Europe last year, though it falls well below the 800,000-unit annualized pace over the last three months.

Exports and Imports Show Varying Year-On-Year Growth

Exports rose 28.7% year-on-year in yuan terms, slower than 29.6% in September, while imports climbed 34.7% year-on-year compared with 24.6% previously. For the January-October period, exports climbed 17.6% year-on-year to 25.99 trillion yuan, while imports grew 23.6% to 18.82 trillion yuan.

In US dollar terms, China’s trade surplus shrank to $105.28 billion versus $125.8 billion expected and the previous reading of +$133.53 billion. Automobile exports climbed 37.6% to $19.69 billion, mobile phone exports increased 13.2% to $17.57 billion, and rare-earth exports rose 45% year-on-year to $82.24 million in October.

The stronger side of the economy got weaker, the firm said in a note.