China announced its biggest-ever trade surplus of $1.19 trillion for 2025, surpassing the previous record of $993 billion in 2024. This milestone comes despite US tariffs and trade tensions sparked by former President Donald Trump's policies. China’s monthly export surpluses crossed $100 billion seven times last year, showing limited impact from tariffs. While trade with the US weakened, China made up for it with higher exports to South East Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Wang Jun, deputy director of China's customs, called the results "extraordinary and hard-won," highlighting growth in green technology, AI products, and robotics. The large surplus reflects strong global demand and a weak domestic market slowed by property and debt issues. Imports rose only 0.5%, as businesses and consumers stayed cautious. A weaker yuan and inflation abroad made Chinese exports more competitive. Trade analyst Deborah Elms said China’s success is a "mixed blessing" – growth abroad means jobs but also more scrutiny from foreign markets. She expects China's trade influence to strengthen in 2026. Wang warned about uncertain global conditions. Many countries complain about cheap Chinese goods flooding their markets. Businesses remain wary of ongoing trade tensions with the US. Trump’s April 2024 tariffs affected over 90 countries, with China targeted heavily. The US-China trade war led to tariff threats but eased after talks in South Korea in October. Some tariffs remain, dampening exports to the US but China’s global trade remains robust.