China’s Trade Surplus Reaches Nearly $1 Trillion

China’s trade surplus hit a record $992 billion in 2024, China’s Customs Administration said on Monday.

Context: A trade surplus is how much a country’s exports exceeds its imports.

Surplus: The value of China’s shipments rose almost every month last year, making the overall surplus 21 percent higher than the previous year.

• In December, China had its second-highest export month on record, increasing nearly 11 percent to $336 billion.
• China’s exports for the whole year totaled $3.6 trillion.

In contrast, China’s imports rose only 1 percent last month and only 1.1 percent for the whole of 2024.

Where are the exports going? Customs Administration officials said China is pushing to increase trade with members of its Belt and Road Initiative. This trade accounted for nearly half of China’s total last year.

Prophesied trade bloc: A Bible prophecy in Isaiah 23 states that China will lead a massively successful trade bloc in the end time, our day today. Verse 3 mentions a “mart of nations,” or a global trading alliance, that will be headed by “Chittim” (verse 1), an ancient name for the people who populated what is now modern-day northern China.

China’s growing success in global trade points to the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Learn more: Read “Who Is Chittim?”