China’s exports jump to record

"Total exports rose by a surprising 10.7 percent in December from the
year before, taking the annual increase to 7.1 percent compared to 2023,
the Chinese customs office announced on Monday. This took the value of
exports last year to a record of just over 25 trillion yuan, or $3.4
trillion.
The large rise was in part a reflection of concerns about escalating
trade protectionism, said Lu Daliang, spokesperson for the Chinese
customs office. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs between 10 and 60
percent on Chinese goods imported into the United States, and analysts
say American buyers have been stockpiling Chinese-made products in case
tariffs cause prices to rise.
The sudden increase was also due to a push to finalize orders before the
earlier-than-usual Lunar New Year holiday, which falls in January this
year, Lu said at a news conference in Beijing.
Still, Chinese officials hailed the numbers as a win: the simultaneous
uptick in total volume and value was “remarkable,” said Wang Lingjun,
deputy director of customs. In a year, China had added the equivalent of
a medium-sized country to its already huge trade volume, he said.
Notable too was the fact that high-tech products made up an increasingly
large proportion of China’s exports, Wang said."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/13/china-exports-trump-tariffs/