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In 2025, China's merchandise trade surplus amounted to around 1.18 trillion U.S. dollars, significantly higher than in the previous year. The merchandise trade balance is the value of exported goods minus the value of imported goods. A positive value indicates a trade surplus, while a negative value indicates a trade deficit. 

Trade balance and partners

In 2024, Chinese imports of goods amounted to approximately 2.59 trillion U.S. dollars, whereas total exports added up to about 3.58 trillion U.S. dollars. In contrast, China’s invisible trade balance, an indicator measuring services and government transfers between countries, closed with a deficit and ranged at about -92 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2022.

Being an economy heavily reliant on export, China ranked first among countries with the highest trade surplus, followed by Germany and Russia. The United States, with imports exceeding exports by approximately 1.15 trillion U.S. dollars that year, ranked first among leading import countries worldwide. In 2023, the value of the U.S. imports from China exceeded the exports to China by around 279.4 billion U.S. dollars.

Another important trade partner for China is the European Union. In 2023, the EU imported around 514 billion euros- worth of goods from China, leading to a trade deficit of around 291 billion euros. Product categories with the highest trade deficit were mostly finished goods such as machinery and transport equipment, clothing, and other manufactures, whereas product categories with a more balanced trade sheet consisted of raw materials and agricultural products to a large extent.