FX.co ★ China Trade Surplus Smallest in 13 Months

China's trade surplus narrowed sharply to USD 51.13 billion in March 2026, down from USD 101.93 billion a year earlier and well below market expectations of USD 112 billion, marking the smallest surplus since February 2025. Exports grew 2.5% year-on-year to USD 321.03 billion, a steep slowdown from the 21.8% surge recorded in the January–February period and significantly underperforming the consensus forecast of 8.3%. This was the weakest export growth since October, when outbound shipments fell 1.3%. At the same time, imports soared 27.8% year-on-year to USD 269.90 billion, far exceeding expectations of 11.1% and accelerating from an upwardly revised 19.8% increase in the January–February period.