HONG KONG (AP) — China’s exports returned to growth in November after an unexpected contraction the previous month, although shipments to the United States fell nearly 29% from a year earlier in an eighth straight month of double-digit declines.
Overall exports from China in November were 5.9% higher than last year in dollar terms, according to customs data released Monday, at $330.3 billion, which exceeded economists’ estimates. This was an improvement from a 1.1% contraction in October.
Underscoring the widening gap between exports and overall imports, customs data showed that China’s trade surplus for the first 11 months exceeded the $1 trillion mark, at nearly $1.08 trillion. This is a record high for any single year and is more than the $992 billion surplus in all of 2024, based on official data compiled by FactSet.
While exports from China to the United States declined for most of the year, shipments to other destinations, including Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the European Union, increased.
China’s imports rose 1.9% in November, to more than $218.6 billion, better than October’s 1% growth, even though a persistent slowdown in the property sector continues to weigh on consumer spending and business investment.
A one-year trade truce between China and the United States was reached at a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late October in South Korea. The United States reduced its tariffs on China, and China promised to stop its export controls related to rare earths.
“It is likely that November exports have yet to fully reflect the tariff cuts, which should pass in the coming months,” ING Bank’s chief economist for Greater China Lynn Song wrote in a report.
China’s factory activity fell for an eighth straight month in November, according to an official survey, and economists said it was too early to determine whether there had been a real rebound in external demand following the US-China trade truce.
With exports still going strong, economists generally expect China to roughly meet its economic growth target of around 5% for this year.
Chinese leaders had outlined a focus on advanced manufacturing for the next five years after a high-level meeting in October.
An annual economic planning meeting, chaired by Xi, was held on Monday to draw up economic growth plans for 2026, according to state news agency Xinhua, as Chinese leaders reiterated a focus on “pursuing progress while ensuring stability”.
A stable global trade environment is unlikely to last long, said Chi Lo, Global Market Strategist, BNP Paribas Asset Management, as relations between China and the United States “remain at a standstill” despite their temporary trade truce.