China’s trade surplus exceeded $1 trillion in the first 11 months of 2025. As reported by splash247, despite shipments to the U.S. dropping nearly one-third year-over-year, overall exports were buoyed by increased activity targeting alternative markets.

The pivot to other trade partners has had a significant impact on global container flows, with BIMCO observing demand increasingly driven by trade routes outside of the U.S. As splash247 reported, trade growth from Asia to Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa has seen double-digit volume increases this year. Carriers have responded with service upgrades, extra loaders, and the cascading of larger tonnage. 

According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) data, regional trends show East Asia leading global export growth at 9%, driven by China and South Korea, with intra-regional trade reaching 10%. Trade between developing economies (South-South trade) grew 8%, signaling “growing resilience” and the rising influence of emerging markets. South America’s intra-regional trade rose 7%, Africa’s growth rose 6%, while Europe and the U.S. posted smaller gains at 6% and 2%, respectively.

UNCTAD noted that friendshoring and nearshoring intensified in 2025, further reshaping global trade flows. Meanwhile, as reported by the American Journal of Transportation, China’s customs data reveals its surplus with Europe reached $310 billion, surpassing its  $302 billion surplus with the U.S. between October 2024 and October 2025.

In the first half of 2025, the European Union reported a $90 billion trade surplus from Chinese exports, raising concerns about the region’s industrial competitiveness and over the limited fallback options for exporters.

Source: splash247.com, UNCTAD, American Journal of Transportation