China says that its accumulated trade surplus has reached $1.08 trillion through November, marking the first time ever that it, or any other country, has crested the $1 trillion mark in a single year.

According to The New York Times, China reported a $111.68 billion trade surplus for the month of November, which was the country's third-highest surplus for a single month ever. China's $1.08 trillion total surplus for the year to date is up 21.7% from that same period in 2024, with Trump administration tariffs forcing it to focus on increasing exports to countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Although China's exports to the U.S. have declined by nearly a fifth as a result of President Donald Trump's tariffs, China has pulled back its purchasing of American soybeans and other U.S. exports at roughly the same rate. At the same time, China has flooded other foreign markets with auto parts, electronics and solar panels, and has managed to bypass at least some of Trump's tariffs by moving final assembly of some goods to Southeast Asia, Mexico and Africa before shipping to the U.S.

Currently, China sells three times as much to the U.S. as it buys, and more than twice as much to the European Union. Overall exports from China were also up by nearly 6% year-over-year in November, while imports increased by just under 2%.