This post was originally published on South China Morning Post.
China’s trade surplus hits record in December to end year in which it exported 40 masks per person around world
China ended 2020 with exceptionally strong exports and a historically large foreign trade surplus, despite being the first country hit by the coronavirus crisis, and in the face of international criticism of its mercantilist trade practices.Amid prolonged debates over deglobalisation and decoupling during the pandemic, the latest official figures showed that China’s trade surplus with the United States rose again last year – to the second-largest gap on record – in a fresh sign that the trade…