China’s imports rose 5.7% yoy to the highest in nearly four years of USD 243.64 billion in December 2025, picking up from a 1.9% gain in the previous month and easily surpassing market forecasts of 0.9%. It was the seventh straight monthly increase and the fastest pace since September, underscoring resilient year-end demand amid Beijing’s policy support and pre-Lunar New Year restocking. For 2025 as a whole, imports stalled at USD 2.58 trillion, with stronger demand from Japan (5.5%), Hong Kong (72.6%), Taiwan (6.0%), South Korea (3.1%), and India (9.7%) offsetting declines from the U.S. (-14.6%), ASEAN (-1.6%), the EU (-0.4%), and Russia (-3.9%). By product, import values rose for automatic data equipment (18.2%), high-tech goods (9.3%), and integrated circuits (10.1%), but fell for refined oil (-18.2%), natural gas (-13.0%), steel (-10.7%), and coal & lignite (-30.6%). Purchases in 2026 are expected to remain modest, hinging on domestic demand, policy support, and global trade ties.
