Beijing
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For China, the record $1.2 trillion annual trade surplus its authorities reported Wednesday is resounding proof of the resilience of its economy in the face of US trade friction.
But the historic figure also tells another story: one of the far-reaching potential for China’s massive export engine to reshape the global economy – and help Beijing win more leverage in its rivalry with the United States.
Whether or not that engine can keep going at the speed that it has – with its 2025 surplus jumping 20% over the previous year’s – is uncertain and depends on the extent to which countries continue to throw up trade barriers against Chinese goods.
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