China's trade surplus tops $1 trillion in first 10 months as AI hardware exports surge

China's customs agency said on Tuesday, November 10, that the country's goods trade surplus reached $1.04 trillion in the first 10 months of 2026, topping $1 trillion for a second consecutive year and reaching the milestone a month earlier than in 2025. October exports rose 35.2% year on year to $412.3 billion, while imports jumped 41.6% to $307.1 billion, as the global artificial-intelligence infrastructure boom drove surging exports of high-tech goods.

October exports up 35.2%; imports grew even faster

October exports rose 35.2% from a year earlier, only slightly slower than September's 36.3% surge and above the 33.5% increase economists had expected in a Reuters poll. Imports climbed 41.6%, far above the 32% forecast and up from 31% growth in September, the fastest pace since May 2021. The monthly surplus narrowed to $105.3 billion from $133.5 billion in September, below the roughly $125.8 billion economists had expected, and the smallest monthly gap since April. Total trade in goods grew 20% year on year in the first 10 months, accelerating from 18.8% in the January-to-September period. Exports in the first 10 months totalled $3,782.8 billion, already more than China's exports in the whole of 2025, $3,771.9 billion.

Integrated-circuit exports more than doubled; AI hardware is the engine

AI hardware is the main engine of export growth: exports of integrated circuits more than doubled in the first 10 months, from $161.6 billion to $341.1 billion, a rise of 111.1%. Exports of computers and parts, including servers, rose 60.6% to $266.5 billion, and total high-tech exports grew 47.9%. Reuters noted that the global race to build AI data centres is buoying demand for Chinese high-tech products and helping offset weak domestic demand, while the widening surplus is likely to sharpen tensions with major trading partners, especially the European Union.

Surplus with the US edges down; full-year record in sight

China's trade surplus with the United States edged down to $32.71 billion in October from $34.01 billion in September. China and the US have extended their trade truce by two months, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit will be held in Shenzhen, where President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump are expected to meet for the third time this year. On current trends, analysts expect China's full-year surplus to surpass last year's record of $1.2 trillion. The customs agency noted that the figures are preliminary and that its monthly bulletin, published after verification, is more accurate. Sources: Reuters; General Administration of Customs of China.