Global Markets
China's Exports Jump 35% in October as Trade Surplus Passes $1 Trillion
Chip shipments more than doubled, and the 10-month surplus has already reached $1.04 trillion ahead of next week's Trump–Xi meeting.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
China's exports rose 35% in October from a year earlier, to $412.3 billion, while imports climbed 41.6% to $307.1 billion, customs data released Tuesday showed. The monthly surplus came to about $105 billion, down from $133.5 billion in September as imports picked up. Part of that import gain came from a recovery in crude shipments from the Persian Gulf.
The ten-month surplus has reached $1.04 trillion, passing the $1 trillion mark for a second straight year and a month earlier than in 2025. Last year's full-year record was $1.2 trillion, and 2026 is on course to beat it. Semiconductor exports rose 137.1% by value and auto exports 37.6%, reflecting global demand for chips, servers and networking equipment.
Shipments to the United States rose 32.9% in October, from a low base after last year's tariff hit. Exports to the European Union rose 24.3%, and China's January–October surplus with the bloc reached $310.7 billion, up from $241.6 billion a year earlier. Brussels and Beijing agreed last month to limit hybrid-vehicle exports to Europe, and economists at Capital Economics say new EU package fees still cover only a small share of Chinese exports.
For funds and allocators, the data shows how much of China's growth now depends on tech and AI-linked demand rather than domestic spending, which is weighed down by a property slump in its sixth year. Moody's Analytics economist Dave Chia flagged that a slowdown in the AI boom would hit chip and electronics prices and volumes, and with them Chinese exports. Next on the calendar: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18–19, with a trade truce extension that runs until January in the background.