Beijing’s export engine keeps powering ahead despite US tariffs, while Zhejiang urges firms to seize a rare window of stability in China-US trade ahead of Xi Jinping’s September 24 meeting with Donald Trump.
China’s trade juggernaut is set to loom large over President Xi Jinping’s September 24 summit with US President Donald Trump, with Beijing’s global trade surplus on track to cross $1 trillion for a second straight year despite Washington’s tariff campaign.
China’s resilience in global trade has strengthened Xi’s position ahead of the Washington meeting, where extending the existing trade truce is expected to take priority over any major breakthrough.
The latest signs of confidence are emerging from China’s export-heavy provinces. Zhejiang, one of the country’s biggest manufacturing and trading hubs, has urged companies to ramp up production, speed up deliveries and look for fresh orders from US buyers amid improving stability in bilateral trade.
Zhejiang sees window for US trade
Zhejiang’s exports rose 10 per cent year-on-year to 2.66 trillion yuan ($396.5 billion) in the first seven months of 2026, according to China Customs data. The US and Europe together accounted for around 30 per cent of the province’s exports.
Businesses in cities including Ningbo and Wenzhou have been encouraged to send sales teams to the US to seek new orders, highlighting the continuing importance of American demand despite China’s efforts to diversify its export markets.
More from BusinessThe province’s optimism follows a series of high-level exchanges between Chinese and US officials and business leaders, as Beijing and Washington seek to prevent trade tensions from escalating again.
China’s export engine keeps roaring
China’s trade surplus is projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2026, underscoring the difficulty Washington faces in using tariffs to curb Chinese exports.
More than half of roughly 6,500 product categories China has sold to the US this year have recorded growth from 2025, according to Reuters.
Chinese shipments to the US, however, fell 1.3 per cent year-on-year to 1.78 trillion yuan in the first seven months, while Southeast Asia has emerged as China’s largest export market by regional bloc.
The shift reflects Beijing’s broader effort to diversify trade while retaining access to the lucrative US market.
Trade truce at centre of summit
The September 24 Trump-Xi meeting is expected to focus on preserving the trade truce agreed last year and identifying areas where the two economies can continue trading without reopening the tariff confrontation.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the proposed US-China Board of Trade will focus on non-strategic and non-critical goods, including products Washington does not seek to manufacture domestically.
For China’s export-driven provinces, that could provide a valuable window to maintain US market access while companies expand into other markets.
The summit also comes as China and the US remain locked in broader disputes over technology, critical minerals, Taiwan and supply chains.
For Beijing’s exporters, however, the immediate priority is simpler: keep trade flowing while the political relationship remains stable.
