China: Exports Surge by 25%, Surplus Reaches 119 Billion Dollars

China’s exports jumped by 25% year-on-year in August 2026, reaching 401.44 billion dollars, accelerating after a 23.9% increase in July. Imports rose by 28.2%, to 282.36 billion dollars, pushing the monthly trade surplus to 119.09 billion dollars.

Data released Tuesday 8 September show that external demand continues to support the Chinese economy. Automobiles, semiconductors, batteries, artificial intelligence-related equipment, and other high-tech products are among the drivers of this growth.

The trade surplus thus expanded compared to the 112.5 billion dollars recorded in July. Over the first eight months of the year, it reached 805.51 billion dollars, putting China on track to once again surpass the 1,000 billion dollar mark for the whole of 2026.

This strength contrasts with still fragile domestic demand. GDP growth slowed to 4.3% in the second quarter, while Beijing aims for an annual increase between 4.5% and 5%. Investment and consumption remain less dynamic than exports.

On the African continent, China’s trade expansion has been accompanied since 1 May 1 by duty-free access granted to 53 African countries until April 2028. This opening is intended to facilitate the entry of African products into the Chinese market, even though trade flows remain heavily dominated by raw materials and Chinese manufactured goods.

The rise in Chinese exports is also fueling trade tensions with the United States and the European Union, which regularly criticize Beijing’s trade imbalances and industrial overcapacity. China rejects these criticisms, attributing the competitiveness of its exports to its industrial innovation and global demand.

Washington and Beijing are currently maintaining a trade truce and are reviewing reciprocal tariff reductions on about 30 billion dollars worth of goods, ahead of an anticipated meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later in September.