Update:
Today, Chinese foreign trade data came out.
China's trade surplus soared to a record $676.4 billion.
The trade balance jumped almost 27 percent over the previous year. Imports and exports totaled US$6.05 trillion in 2021, up 30% from 2020. Among them, exports increased by 30% to US$3.36 trillion. Imports totaled US$2.69 trillion, an increase of 30%.
Between China and the US, Chinese exports surpassed its imports by a record $396.6 billion. The United States was China's third-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade up nearly 29% to $755.6 billion.
Imports from China, in turn, increased 19.5% in December and ended 2021 with a growth of 30.1%, driven, in part, by rising commodity prices. The monthly data, however, was below the 31.7% registered in November and the market forecast of 24.2%.
With a positive balance of US$ 94.46 billion in December, the Chinese trade balance totaled a surplus of US$ 676.43 billion in 2021, above any other ever recorded. The monthly data also exceeded the expectations of economists consulted by The Wall Street Journal, who had expected a balance of US$ 77 billion.
