Trade surplus reaches a near-record high

Global trade: A technician tests charging stations at a manufacturing plant in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. China’s trade surplus grew further this year, with the first 10 months posting a surplus nearly 9% larger than a year earlier. — Bloomberg

BEIJING: China’s trade surplus has ballooned to just over US$1 trillion for the year despite the biggest surge in imports since 2021, and with an increasingly lopsided relationship with the European Union (EU) accounting for nearly a third of the overall number.

Imports spiked far more than forecast and advanced almost 42% last month from a year earlier, data released by China’s General Administration of Customs showed yesterday.