By Hannah Miao

A surge in exports powered China's growth last year, defying expectations that a trade war with the U.S. would hobble the world's second-biggest economy.

China's gross domestic product expanded 5% last year when adjusted for deflation, according to data released Monday by the country's National Bureau of Statistics. That met Beijing's official growth target and is in line with the 5% real GDP growth notched in 2024.

At the beginning of last year, many analysts expected new U.S. tariffs to stifle China's exports and depress growth. Instead, China boosted its exports to markets around the world, more than making up for a drop in trade with the U.S.

"Turned out the trade war didn't really hit China heavily," said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Australian investment bank Macquarie Group.

Last week, China's customs agency reported a record $1.19 trillion trade surplus for 2025, driven by a 5.5% increase in exports.

--Grace Zhu contributed to this article.

Write to Hannah Miao at hannah.miao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2026 21:15 ET (02:15 GMT)

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