China’s exports grew by 6.6% year on year in December, up from 5.9% in November, beating our and market expectations for a moderation. On the year, exports rose 5.5% YoY, just a bit lower than 2024’s 5.9% growth rate. This strong export performance came despite a clear drop-off of exports to the US, which fell -20.0% YoY for the full year. Exports to South Korea (-1.1%) and Japan (3.5%) were also relatively soft on the year. Exports to other regions were enough to offset this drag in 2025, with the top export destinations of ASEAN (13.4%) and EU (8.4%) all well above the overall export growth. We also saw strong ... (full story)