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China Merchandise Exports

China Merchandise Exports

Merchandise Exports in China

Merchandise exports were worth USD 3,577 billion in 2024 in China compared to USD 2,342 billion ten years earlier, and averaged USD 2,765 billion over the last decade. For more exports information, visit our dedicated page.

China Merchandise Exports Chart

Note: This chart displays Exports (USD billion) for China from 2014 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.

China Merchandise Exports Data

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 2,590 3,357 3,544 3,379 3,576
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 3.6 29.6 5.6 -4.7 5.8

Merchandise exports increase in August

Latest reading: Merchandise exports increased 4.4% year-on-year in August (July: +7.2% year-on-year). The figure marked the softest expansion since February and was slightly below market expectations. Plunging exports to the U.S. partly offset strong sales to the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, merchandise imports increased 1.3% over the same month last year in August (July: +4.1% yoy). As a result, the merchandise trade balance improved from the previous month, recording a USD 102.3 billion surplus in August (July 2025: USD 98.2 billion surplus; August 2024: USD 91.6 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend improved, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 1165.8 billion surplus in August, compared to the USD 1155.0 billion surplus in July.

Panelist insight: United Overseas Bank’s Ho Woei Chen said: “Exports remained supported by demand from non-US markets whereas shipments to the US contracted for the 5th consecutive month since Apr. US remained the worst performing market for Chinese exports with the decline widening to -33.1% y/y in Aug from -21.7% y/y in Jul. US tariff policy has continued to drive the diversification of supply chains outside of China while demand for Chinese exports have been diverted to markets including those in ASEAN such as Vietnam and Thailand.”

Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years

How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Chinese merchandise exports projections for the next ten years from a panel of 11 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable merchandise exports forecast available for Chinese merchandise exports.

Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Chinese merchandise exports projections.

Want to get access to the full dataset of Chinese merchandise exports forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.

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