China’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States surged to a record $323.3 billion in 2018 as a tariff battle with Washington intensified.
Customs data released Monday show exports rose 11.3 percent to $478.4 billion despite President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs in a fight over Chinese technology ambitions. Imports of American goods rose just 0.7 percent over 2017. That reflects the impact of Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs and encouragement to importers to buy more from non-U.S. suppliers.
However, the data show December exports to U.S. contracted 3.5 percent, compared with a year ago as Trump tariff hikes hit.
China’s global exports rose 7.1 percent to $2.5 trillion, down from the 7.9 percent rate reported earlier for 2017. Imports rose 12.9 percent to $2.1 trillion, down from the previous year’s 15.9 percent.
The country’s global trade surplus was $352 billion.