$311 billion in 10 months: China's trade surplus with the EU has soared by 29% since the start of the year

The export machine seems unstoppable. China announced on Tuesday that it had passed the symbolic mark of $1,000 billion in trade surplus since the start of the year in October, with a jump in exports to the EU and the United States.

To get an idea, 1,000 billion dollars (891 billion euros) correspond, for example, to the entire wealth produced in one year in Switzerland or the Netherlands. The difference between what China sells and what it buys is particularly clear with the European Union.

Over the first ten months of the year, the Chinese trade surplus alone with the European Union increased by 29% to 311 billion dollars, or more than a billion per day, despite the efforts of the Twenty-Seven to try to counter this trend. It therefore represents almost a third of the total. Foreign trade continues to establish itself as a driver of the Chinese economy, particularly thanks to the explosion in demand for products linked to artificial intelligence and in the field of electric cars.

The $1 trillion trade surplus mark was only reached in November last year, which ended at a record $1.2 trillion.

For the month of October alone, Chinese exports increased by 35% year-on-year to $412 billion. Imports also rose sharply, by 42% over one year to $307 billion, but without preventing the deficit from widening. Among exports, 55 billion went to the European Union in October, up 24%, for a Chinese monthly surplus of 33 billion.

Lagging behind in the electrification of transport, weighed down by high energy costs and a lack of investment, the EU regularly points to an "unsustainable" trade deficit with Beijing and also accuses China of resorting to unfair practices. The two parties nevertheless reached an agreement last month on automobiles, a key sector in Europe, aimed at limiting exports of Chinese hybrid vehicles. Significant increase in sales to the United States Chinese exports to the United States also jumped in October, by 33% to 46 billion, despite the context of the tariff war launched by American President Donald Trump.

He is due to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit which will be held on November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, in southern China. A tripartite meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is also planned. These spectacular results of Chinese foreign trade contrast with the persistent sluggishness of the domestic market.

Machine-translated from French