China trade surplus hits new record as December exports rise more than expected

China's exports rose more than expected in the final month of 2020, pushing the country's trade surplus to another record high, government data showed.

U.S. dollar-denominated exports climbed 18.1% year over year in December 2020 to $281.93 billion following a 21.1% surge in the prior month, according to the country's General Administration for Customs. The consensus estimate of economists polled by Econoday was for a 15.0% increase in exports.

Imports jumped 6.5% to $203.75 billion, faster than the 4.5% rise in the prior month and the Econoday consensus of a 5.0% increase.

As a result, China's trade surplus ballooned to $78.17 billion in December 2020, surpassing the Econoday consensus of $70.0 billion. This set another record trade surplus for China, according to Bloomberg News.

In yuan terms, exports climbed 10.9% year over year in December, while imports declined 0.2%.

For full-year 2020, China's trade surplus reached $535.03 billion, or 3.710 trillion yuan in local-currency terms.

As of Jan. 13, US$1 was equivalent to 6.47 Chinese yuan.