China's trade surplus has topped $1 trillion this year for the first time, the Financial Times reported.
Exports have boomed despite U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.
In the first 11 months of this year, China's trade surplus in dollar terms was $1.076 trillion, according to data released on Monday by the country's customs administration, which covers goods but not services.
China's trade surplus for the full year of 2024 was just under $1 trillion.
The record surplus comes after the de-escalation of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, which agreed to a year-long truce in October. The wide gap between China's exports and imports has drawn criticism from its trading partners, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling the imbalances "unbearable" during a visit to the country last week.
Today's data showed that exports rose 5.9% in November from a year earlier, after unexpectedly falling in October. Imports rose 1.9% in November, leading to a surplus of $112 billion for the month.
China's exports to the United States have collapsed sharply in recent months and fell 29% last month from a year earlier. However, shipments to other regions, especially Southeast Asia, have grown rapidly. Economists believe some of those shipments to Southeast Asia, which added 8% last month, are later transshipped to the United States.
"I think the crux of the matter is that the United States has not restricted the transshipment of goods through third countries," said Carlos Casanova, senior Asia economist at UBP. He said U.S. demand has been "stable" and added: "With no decline in US demand, the region continues to see a surge in exports, and China is indirectly benefiting from this".
Beijing has relied heavily on exports to boost economic activity amid weak domestic demand and a property market slowdown now entering its fifth year.
At a meeting of the Communist Party's Politburo on economic policy, President Xi Jinping highlighted the need for more consumption, saying that "it is essential to stick to domestic demand as the main driver, building a strong domestic market.".
But he also reiterated calls to build "new growth engines" - industries that drive Chinese exports, such as electric vehicles and robots. Exports to the EU also rose sharply in November, up 14.8% year-on-year, compared with 0.9% in October. "That was the big surprise in the November data," said Lin Song, chief China economist at ING.
He noted that the depreciation of the yuan, in line with the dollar and against the euro, had also boosted the competitiveness of Chinese exports and contributed to its trade surplus with the bloc. He said Chinese exports would remain strong next year but would face increasing resistance from trading partners.
"Macron said the EU could potentially raise tariffs on China, so these are all uncertainties," Song added. "I also think we have a slightly slower global growth outlook, so that will also impact export demand".
China is poised to increase its share of global exports to 16.5% by 2030 from 15% now, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Asia chief economist Chetan Ahya said in a report. They doubt that increased protectionist measures by trading partners could halt that progress.
"Given its dominant position in fast-growing emerging sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and robotics, we believe China will continue to strengthen its position in global manufacturing and trade," the analysts wrote.