Welcome back to China Insights Weekly. Here are the highlights of the week:
- Export dynamics are shifting east and south, with the European Union and ASEAN replacing the US as the main drivers of growth.
- Leaders in foreign direct investment rank China first as a source of global investment expansion in 2026
- CSSC wins record-breaking $7.1 billion shipbuilding contract from Cosco, largely settled in RMB
- Chinese waste-to-energy companies are accelerating their overseas expansion and exporting entire power plants, not just technology.
China's trade surplus hits record $1 trillion thanks to chips and cars
China's trade surplus exceeded USD 1 trillion for the first time in 2025. Exports rose by 5.9% year-on-year in November, while imports increased by just under 2%. The surplus for the first eleven months reached nearly USD 1.08 trillion, surpassing the full-year surplus of USD 992 billion in 2024.
Deliveries to the US fell by almost 29.1% year-on-year., while exports from China to the European Union increased by 14.8 per cent, and to ASEAN countries by 8.2 per cent., to Japan by 4.3 % and to South Korea by 1.9 %. Exports of integrated circuits rose by 34 % and cars by 53 % compared to last year. Morgan Stanley predicts that by 2030, China's share of global exports will reach 16.5% %, up from approximately 15% % currently, thanks to its lead in advanced manufacturing and fast-growing sectors such as electric vehicles, robotics and batteries.
China leads global sales of battery electric vehicles with a 60% share, BYD and Geely among the world's top three brands
Global sales of electric vehicles in the third quarter of 2025 grew by 32% year-on-year. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for two-thirds of all electric vehicle sales and also recorded 32% year-on-year growth. BEV penetration reached 18% of the global passenger car market, up from 14% a year ago. China was the main driver, accounting for 60% of global BEV sales, followed by Europe and the US.
BYD Auto maintained its position as the global leader in the BEV segment with nearly 0.6 million vehicles sold, representing a year-on-year increase of 33.1%, driven by strong overseas sales in Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Geely Holding Group ranked third with a 10% global share of the BEV market and 51% year-on-year growth, while Tesla took second place with more than 13% share and 7% sales growth. The world's best-selling electric vehicle models included the Tesla Model Y, Galaxy Xingyuan and Tesla Model 3.
China is set to be the largest source of global expansion of foreign direct investment in 2026
According to fDi Intelligence's inaugural survey focusing on the outlook for the coming year, in which 101 foreign investment leaders participated, China is expected to increase its share of global foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2026, with a total of 74 mentions. Chinese companies, including ByteDance, Geely Holding, BYD, JD.com and Haier, are actively pursuing internationalisation strategies to find new markets for their cutting-edge products.
The United Arab Emirates, India and Saudi Arabia also feature prominently, with 40, 31 and 29 mentions respectively. The survey points to a clear shift in the global centre of commerce towards the south, where growing centres such as Lagos, São Paulo, Mumbai and Dubai are competing with traditional Western metropolises.
Tomáš Kučera & Yereth Jansen
China-insights.com/gnews.cz - GH
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