China has reported a strong export run in 2025 with a record trillion-dollar surplus, as its producers brace for three more years of a Trump administration set on slowing the manufacturing powerhouse by shifting US orders to other markets. Beijing’s resilience to renewed tariff tensions since Donald Trump returned to the US presidency last January has emboldened Chinese firms to shift their focus to south-east Asia, Africa and Latin America to offset US duties. With Beijing looking to exports to counteract a prolonged property slump and sluggish domestic demand, the…
Day: January 13, 2026
Cambodia looks to reduce China reliance amid US trade war
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Cambodia is looking to reduce its reliance on China, its long-standing ally and largest foreign investor, as it seeks to shield its economy from the superpower rivalry between Washington and Beijing, its deputy prime minister has said. China is Cambodia’s largest donor and trading partner, accounting for more than half of all investments into the country. It is also the largest source of raw materials for Cambodia’s export-focused manufacturing industry,…
China’s trade surplus hits record $1.2tn in 2025
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese trade myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China has reported a record full-year trade surplus of $1.2tn for 2025, as exports soared despite US President Donald Trump’s trade war. Exports in goods grew 6.6 per cent in dollar terms in December on a year earlier, according to official data released on Wednesday by the customs administration. That was more than double the average forecast from a Bloomberg poll of analysts of 3.1 per cent and greater than…
‘Strategic patience’ key for Beijing in South China Sea and other disputes
Beijing should exercise “strategic patience” in managing its maritime disputes, with provocations to be expected from the Philippines in the South China Sea and Japan in the East China Sea, according to a leading Chinese analyst. Hu Bo, director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), delivered his message in an article published this month in the latest issue of defence journal Modern Ship. There have been continuous tensions between Beijing and its uneasy neighbours Manila and Tokyo over territorial claims at sea. In his article, Hu…
As China’s US exports plunge in 2025, Beijing banks on diversification for 2026 growth
China’s exports defied a turbulent year of trade tensions to perform better than expected in 2025, cementing a record US$1.19 trillion annual surplus as manufacturers diversified markets to offset a sharp decline in shipments to the United States. Exports grew 5.5 per cent, year on year, in 2025 to US$3.77 trillion, according to customs data released on Wednesday, higher than the 5 per cent growth projected by financial data provider Wind. Imports for the same period remained flat at US$2.58 trillion, exceeding Wind’s estimates for a 0.09 per cent dip.…
China’s state iron ore buyer flexes muscles in talks with global miners
A powerful Beijing-backed company that has a stranglehold over China’s massive purchases of iron ore has become the biggest risk in the global market for the commodity, according to one of the world’s leading miners. China Mineral Resources Group has started to flex its muscles in price negotiations, shaking up the global market for iron ore, the world’s most traded commodity after oil. Big iron ore producers including Australia’s BHP and Brazil’s Vale were last year caught in protracted negotiations with CMRG, which acts as a central buyer of foreign…
DeepSeek stays mum on next AI model release as technical papers show frontier innovation
Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek continues to keep the world guessing on when its next major release – the much-anticipated updates to its V3 and R1 models – will be launched, according to analysts, amid its recent publication of technical papers. The papers underscored DeepSeek’s efforts to improve the underlying infrastructure of AI systems in China at a time when geopolitical tensions and domestic production hurdles restricted the country’s access to advanced semiconductors to train new models, according to Zhang Ruiwang, a Beijing-based information systems architect working in the internet…
The Chinese century may already be here
Some people wonder whether China could carry out a sophisticated state-sponsored kidnapping like the US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife. And it’s not just that; there is state terrorism like remote assassinations by drones, which also end up killing a lot of civilian bystanders, not to mention breaching the sovereignty of their countries. The United States can apparently do that anywhere around the world. Such Hollywood-style cowboy militarism no doubt makes its leaders feel all-powerful. That’s the problem. If you are a hammer, everything looks like…
China warns of covert mapping by foreign forces to steal sensitive geodata
China’s top counter-espionage agency has warned that overseas entities are attempting to steal the country’s geographic data through covert mapping operations that threaten national security. Foreign “anti-China hostile forces” have been deploying “various clandestine methods” to gather, steal and exploit China’s foundational mapping and geographic information, the Ministry of State Security said in a social media article on Tuesday. It said the data, crucial for infrastructure planning, resource management and military operations, was “under constant threat from covert espionage activities aimed at undermining China’s national security”. Advertisement China has been…
US approves sale of Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips to China
The US government has given chip giant Nvidia the green light to sell its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) processors in China, the Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. The H200, Nvidia’s second-most-advanced semiconductor, had been restricted by Washington over concerns that it would give China’s technology industry and military an edge over the US. The Commerce Department said the chips can be shipped to China granted that there is sufficient supply of the processors in the US. President Donald Trump said last month that he would allow the chip sales…