Last year, China’s trade surplus soared to a record high, as a continued boom in exports helped offset the loss of momentum in the country’s overall economy.

China’s trade surplus in 2021 will be $676 billion, up 26 percent from the previous year, official data showed on Friday.

Full-year exports up 30% to 3.36t, with December up 21% year-on-year every month 2021.

The figures underscore China’s dominance of global trade in the age of coronavirus, manufacturing Benefit from the shift from service to commodity consumption around the world.

Trade data released ahead of Q4 release GDP figures On Monday, it is expected to reflect the broader challenges facing the country’s economy lingering weaknesses On the consumption side, a slowdown in real estate and strict virus control measures.

“External demand was probably the biggest growth driver last year,” said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie, who believed it “helped offset the slowdown in real estate and very weak consumption.”

after sink deep In early 2020, China’s exports began to rise sharply as domestic virus infections dwindled to a trickle and the rest of the world imposed lockdowns.Exports continue to climb in 2021 despite widespread delays and blockages Global Supply Chain.

“China’s supply chain capabilities are much better than the rest of the world, so it gets a bigger share [for trade],”nonsense.

But aside from a wave of defaults surrounding the real estate industry Debt-laden developer Evergrande, China has also shown pressure from its strict pandemic strategy to minimize new coronavirus cases, which has dampened consumer activity.

authorities have Strict lockdown imposed In the cities of Xi’an and Tianjin in the weeks leading up to next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics.

Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics, noted that “While Covid-19 restrictions have caused some disruption to Chinese exports, they do not appear to have had a significant overall impact as companies and local governments have successfully struggled to maintain production.” .

But Kuijs and other analysts predict that export growth will slow in 2022, suggesting that foreign demand peaked last year.China’s exports grow year-on-year Slow down every month Since September, it has reached 28%. In December, the country’s imports rose 20% year-on-year.