China's trade surplus surged close to $1 trillion, days before Trump's big new tariffs are due to land

• China's trade surplus reached a record 7.06 trillion yuan ($990 billion) last year, new data shows.
• President-elect Donald Trump said he is going to put harsher tariffs on China when he takes office.
• China's exports have steadily climbed regardless of prior efforts to rein it in.

China's exports reached record levels in 2024 as it braces for new tariffs President-elect Donald Trump said he'll impose after he takes office next week.

According to Chinese government figures released Monday, its exports grew 7.1% to 25.45 trillion yuan last year ($$3.58 trillion), while imports expanded 2.3% to 18.39 trillion yuan ($2.59 trillion).

The difference between those figures equates to a trade surplus of 7.06 trillion yuan ($990 billion).

Business Insider in December reported that China massively boosted its exports as its domestic economy teetered under the effects of property market inflation and sluggish demand.

Chinese exports have surged, particularly in the so-called "global south" of developing non-Western economies, leading several to impose tariffs to protect domestic industries.

The world's second biggest economy, China is a leading exporter of a huge range of manufactured goods, including textiles and electronics and, more recently, solar panels and electric vehicles.

Trump pledged a 10% increase to all tariffs on China, which could deepen the trade war between the economic superpowers.

Last week, following a Washington Post report that some of his aides favored a milder tariff policy, he said any suggestion his plan would be softened is "wrong."

Reuters reported that Chinese exports surged in December 2024 to $104.8 billion, seemingly to pre-empt the tariffs.

"Trade front-loading became more visible in December as a result of both Chinese New Year effects and Donald Trump's inauguration," Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told the outlet.