China’s October exports and imports beat forecasts as monthly surplus narrows
China’s exports rose 35.2% and imports 41.6% in October, both above forecasts, while the monthly trade surplus narrowed to $105.3 billion.
China’s exports rose 35.2% in October from a year earlier in US dollar terms, customs data showed on Tuesday, ahead of the 33.5% forecast in a Reuters poll and just below September’s 36.3%. Imports jumped 41.6%, well above the 32% expected and up from 31% in September.
The monthly trade surplus narrowed to $105.3 billion from $133.5 billion in September. For January–October the surplus reached $1.04 trillion, topping $1 trillion for a second straight year and a month earlier than in 2025, according to AP and Reuters.
Exports to the United States rose 32.9% year on year, CNBC reported, leaving a bilateral surplus of about $32.7 billion. Analysts cited demand for chips and other AI-related hardware as a key driver of exports.
The figures come days before an expected meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, and as pressure grows on Beijing to rebalance its economy.