China Reports Record Trade Surplus With United States

The Wall Street Journal reports:

China’s trade surplus with the U.S. hit a record last year, as robust American demand for Chinese goods undercut the Trump administration’s tariff offensive aimed at narrowing the countries’ lopsided trade gap.

China recorded $323.32 billion in surplus with the U.S. in 2018, representing a 17% jump from the figure in the previous year, according to Chinese government trade data released Monday.

China’s widening trade surplus is likely to provide ready ammunition to those in the Trump administration who say that the tariff pressure campaign needs to be sustained to get Beijing to correct what the U.S. sees as unfair trade practices.