Another Big Month for Chinese Exports China on Tuesday reported another phenomenal month of exports. Its total shipments rose 25% year-on-year in August to $401.4 billion. Meanwhile, total imports increased 28.2% to $282.4 billion. The gap means China is on track to report a second straight year of a trade surplus of well over a trillion… Continue reading China’s Hidden Trade Deficit: Microchips
Insights
TDM Insight: China is Becoming a ‘Factory for Factories’
Another Strong Month The Artificial Intelligence revolution gets the headlines and is being credited for another robust trade month. In July, Chinese exports increased 23.9% year-on-year to $397.9 billion. Its monthly surplus was $112.5 billion, putting it on track for another trillion-dollar annual surplus. “Export and import values remain elevated, helped by soaring global demand… Continue reading TDM Insight: China is Becoming a ‘Factory for Factories’
China’s New Record: Over 1M Cars Exported in a Month
China released eye-popping June trade numbers on Tuesday. “A bit insane,” said Brad Setser of the Council of Foreign Relations, on X. Overall, Chinese exports increased 27% year-on-year to $412.4 billion. Imports expanded even more, by 36% year-on-year, to $286.8 billion. Chinese officials attributed the spike to the new artificial intelligence economy. “With the rapid growth of… Continue reading China’s New Record: Over 1M Cars Exported in a Month
Trade Statistics Show Inflation
AI is Still Driving Trade Despite an increase in protectionism and tariffs, global trade has persisted at a steady pace thanks to a boom in sales of new technologies related to artificial intelligence. The war in the Middle East and subsequent energy crisis have only made economies more focused on restructuring in an environmentally friendly… Continue reading Trade Statistics Show Inflation
Is The U.S.-China Trade War Over?
U.S.-China Summit This Week When Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing, trade, for once, won’t be the primary topic. Among more severe crises in play are the U.S. war with Iran, the rise of artificial intelligence, and China’s desire to annex Taiwan. After the Trump’s imposition of triple-digit tariffs last year, Beijing… Continue reading Is The U.S.-China Trade War Over?
Vietnam’s Superpower: Versatility
Vietnam’s Moment in (Trade) Time The wars in Iran and Ukraine, and trade turmoil around the world, especially involving the U.S. and China, have obscured what continues to be one of the essential trade stories of the century: Vietnam’s export growth. The Asian country of 102 million has staged an epic comeback since the 1970s… Continue reading Vietnam’s Superpower: Versatility
How AI Is Driving Global Trade
Lower Growth in China In early March, Chinese leadership set their lowest gross domestic product growth target since 1991, forecasting a 4.5% to 5% expansion for its economy in 2026. This week, China reported a 21.8% year-on-year increase in exports for January and February to $656.6 billion. To avoid distorted numbers because of Chinese New… Continue reading How AI Is Driving Global Trade
Global Trade is Moving On — Without the U.S.
One way of looking at China’s trade economy in December and for the full 2025 year is its export surge, amplified by a weak currency, deflation at home, and inflation in most of the rest of the world. China pumped up total monthly exports 6.6% to $357.8 billion in December from $335.6 billion over the… Continue reading Global Trade is Moving On — Without the U.S.
TDM’s Top 10 Trade Trends to Watch in 2026
Happy New Year. While we wait on the Supreme Court to rule whether the Trump administration is entitled to apply tariffs on national security grounds, global trade grinds on. We at Trade Data Monitor are paying attention to what’s happening via the prism of official trade statistics. It’s a radically different world than when I started covering… Continue reading TDM’s Top 10 Trade Trends to Watch in 2026
The Lessons of China’s First-Ever Trillion-Dollar Trade Surplus
The Trillion-Dollar Surplus After falling year-on-year in October, China’s exports rebounded in November enough that it is almost certain that for 2025, the country that was mired in poverty when you and I were born will become the first nation ever to record a trillion-dollar trade surplus. The number is just a number, but it’s… Continue reading The Lessons of China’s First-Ever Trillion-Dollar Trade Surplus
Chinese Exports Down 1.1% in October
The Chinese export juggernaut finally started to show the impact of protectionism and weaker Western consumer markets in October. A week after Presidents Trump and Xi settled a new trade deal that cut tariffs and put off their trade war for a year, China reported a 1.1% year-on-year drop in exports to $305.3 billion. To… Continue reading Chinese Exports Down 1.1% in October
Is Global Trade Too Strong for Tariffs?
Global Trade Can Take a Punch This month, markets have swerved to adjust to the threat of new U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Yet, global trade keeps finding a way. In September, although shipments to the U.S. plummeted, China’s monthly exports increased 8.3% year-on-year to $328.6 billion. One way of looking at the stubborn performance… Continue reading Is Global Trade Too Strong for Tariffs?
Casualties of the U.S.-China Trade War: 36 Million Phones
Please Dial a New Number As U.S. and Chinese negotiators try to find a way out of tariff gridlock, one thing is certain: The smartphone supply chain has shifted significantly, upending the practices and expectations of manufacturers, logistics firms, and retailers. China’s exports of mobile phone fell 11.6% year-on-year in August to 60.8 million sets.… Continue reading Casualties of the U.S.-China Trade War: 36 Million Phones
Global Coal Trade is Finally Faltering
China Cuts Coal Imports For years, as governments around the world embraced clean energy technology, coal trade held steady because China was still buying. As the rest of the world turned away from coal, China boosted imports to power its booming electrification, and a vibrant new industry of electric vehicles and batteries. In 2024, it… Continue reading Global Coal Trade is Finally Faltering
China Ramps Up Exports to Vietnam Amid Transshipment Worries
Made in Vietnam (or China) At a time when trade officials around the world are closely watching Vietnam’s evolving place in the global trading system, Chinese exports to the new Asian economic power in June boomed 23.8% year-on-year to $16.3 billion. The U.S.-China trade war has pushed attention of U.S. trade negotiators toward manufacturing powers… Continue reading China Ramps Up Exports to Vietnam Amid Transshipment Worries
China Reconfigures Export Markets as Shipments to U.S. Plummet
U.S. Market Collapsing For China As Americans and Chinese officials scrambled to forge new politically acceptable trade terms, China reported a pandemic-level decline in exports to the U.S. Chinese shipments to the U.S. fell 34.4% year-on-year in May to $28.8 billion, the steepest drop since Covid-19 upended global trade in February 2020. Chinese imports from… Continue reading China Reconfigures Export Markets as Shipments to U.S. Plummet
China Hikes Oil & Gas Imports
China’s Economy When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the move was seen as an essential turboboost to a huge but developing country. Without access to global markets, there was no way for China to become the greatest exporter the world has ever seen. Now, as the backlash to that growth turns into… Continue reading China Hikes Oil & Gas Imports
Chinese Demand Falters as Imports Decline
Trade in a Time of Geopolitical Adjustment The focus of the global trade world is, rightly, on President-elect Donald Trump and the U.S. debating and deciding how far they’ll go in enacting new protectionist measures. But an issue that could upend geopolitics — with unintended consequences that will affect big issues like war and peace,… Continue reading Chinese Demand Falters as Imports Decline
Steel Trade Trends in 2025
Shake-up in Global Steel The world of steel trade is in for a shake-up. New climate rules in Europe, the prospect of ramped-up U.S. tariffs on steel and an excess of Chinese steel imports mean companies around the world must calibrate their trade strategies in 2024. With the U.S. locked in protectionism and the… Continue reading Steel Trade Trends in 2025
Trump Election Gooses Trade– Before Tariffs Hit
This week’s election of Donald Trump as the U.S.’s 47th president is almost certainly likely to lead to another trade war with China, and further tariffs on American imports. During the campaign, Trump said his favorite word was tariff and floated a universal 10% tariff and specific duties on Chinese imports as high as 60%.… Continue reading Trump Election Gooses Trade– Before Tariffs Hit
China Finally Affected by Protectionist Tariffs
September Rain China posted lackluster trade figures in September, highlighting how it might become slowly less reliant on global commerce as other major economies retrench. Chinese exports increased 2.4% year-on-year, below economists’ expectations of around 6%, to $303.7 billion, while imports increased only 0.3% to $222 billon. The 2024 Boom For most of 2024, Chinese… Continue reading China Finally Affected by Protectionist Tariffs
50 U.S. States Have 50 Trade Economies
The politics of trade in the U.S. have gotten complicated during this century, mainly because deindustrialization in the Rust Belt has cost so many factories and jobs. The free trade consensus of the 1990s that led to NAFTA and China joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 is dead. But it shouldn’t be lost on… Continue reading 50 U.S. States Have 50 Trade Economies
Don’t Overlook Germany’s Trade Economy
The conversation about global trade often leaves out the world’s fourth biggest economy and third top exporter and importer, but Germany is poised to play an even bigger role this decade as China and the U.S. remain locked in a trade war. In August, Chinese exports to Germany jumped a whopping 21.5% to $10.1 billion.… Continue reading Don’t Overlook Germany’s Trade Economy
It’s a Good Summer for Trade But China Ag Imports Fell In July
During a summer that’s been a boon for free trade despite a looming escalation in trade wars, and the possibility of a second Trump administration, China’s agricultural imports dropped 4.9% year-on-year in July to $17.8 billion. The trend reflects China’s regulatory practices, strategic protectionism, and shifting demographics. China has blocked some U.S. beef imports because of… Continue reading It’s a Good Summer for Trade But China Ag Imports Fell In July