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China’s huge exports in 2024 exceeded its imports on a scale rarely seen elsewhere, unless or without delay after the two global wars.
By Keith Bradsher
Keith Bradsher, who began covering China’s industry problems in 1991, reported from Beijing.
China announced Monday that its industrial surplus reached about $1 trillion last year, as its exports flooded the world while the country’s businesses and families spent cautiously on imports.
When adjusted for inflation, China’s trade surplus last year far exceeded any in the world in the past century, even those of export powerhouses like Germany, Japan or the United States. Chinese factories are dominating global manufacturing on a scale not experienced by any country since the United States after World War II.
The influx of goods from Chinese factories has prompted complaints from a growing list of China’s trading partners. Both industrialized and emerging countries have imposed price lists in an attempt to stem the tide. In many cases, China has retaliated in the same way. , bringing the world closer to an industrial war that could further destabilize the global economy.
President-elect Donald J. Trump, who takes office next week, has threatened to accentuate America’s already competitive industrial policy toward China.
On Monday, China’s General Administration of Customs said the country exported goods worth $3. 58 trillion last year, while goods worth $2. 59 trillion rose. The surplus of $990 billion surpassed China’s previous record of $838 billion in 2022.
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