China’s exports sharply beat expectations in the first two months as the trade surplus hit the highest on record

China’s trade surplus rose to the highest level on record in the combined January-February period, while exports beat expectations by a massive margin, underscoring the resilience of the world’s second-largest economy despite trade tensions with the US.

China typically incorporates smooth distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday, which alters January and February trade data.

China’s trade balance rose to $213.62 billion, compared with expectations of $179.6 billion, and was higher than the 114.1 billion seen in December.

Exports from China rose 21.8% year-on-year in the combined January-February period, beating the 7.1% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Imports rose 19.8% in the first two months, against expectations of 6.3% growth, customs data showed on Wednesday.

The business figures come after China’s consumer inflation recorded its biggest jump in more than three years, supported by extended holiday spending.

China’s CPI rose 1.3% in February from a year earlier and beat economists’ forecasts for a 0.8% increase in a Reuters poll.

The increase marked the strongest rebound since January 2023, following a 0.2% rise in January.

The data comes after China wrapped up its “two sessions” policy meeting, where Chinese Premier Li Qiang acknowledged the impact of US tariffs while outlining economic targets on Thursday.

Beijing and Washington have been locked in a trade war since US President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office in January 2025, with both sides raising and lowering tariffs on each other’s goods throughout 2025.

However, relations improved after a meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea in October.

US tariffs on Chinese goods currently stand at 10% of global levels after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs, implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

However, ex-ante tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 reach up to 100% for certain products.

Trade intelligence agency China Briefing reported in February that “due to the multitude of existing tariffs, the effective tariff rate on many Chinese goods shipped to the US is close to 30 percent — still the highest of any country.”

— CNBC’s Annick Bao and Evelyn Cheng contributed to this story.

This is breaking news, please check back for updates.