The French newspaper Le Monde: The US tariff policy has actually helped China's foreign trade
In this issue, Le Monde's economic section devoted a full page to introducing how Trump's tariff policy has changed the global trade market structure. There was an in-depth analytical article on Chinese trade exports, which stated that although exports to the United States have significantly declined, China's trade surplus is heading towards record levels, and it is likely to exceed 1.2 trillion US dollars by 2025.
The article first gave a specific example. Despite the exceptionally hot summer this year and multiple typhoons landing, the port workers in the commercial capital of China worked hard to ensure smooth operations. Their efforts paid off. In August this year, the world's busiest Shanghai Port completed a throughput of 5.02 million standard containers, setting a world record. This indicates that China is moving towards an unprecedented trade surplus, and it may surpass 1.2 trillion US dollars (about 1.023 trillion euros) by the end of 2025.
President Donald Trump launched a tariff war in April this year, and six months later, the average tariff on Chinese goods rose to as high as 145%, but it has now dropped to 57.6%. China has not been defeated. Trump's strategy of isolating China has not worked, and instead, China has continuously strengthened its economic and trade ties with other regions around the world.
Le Monde stated that in fact, the only country where China's exports have clearly declined is the United States. According to data from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the average tariff on US goods in China is 32.6%. In August this year, China's exports to the US fell by 33%. At the same time, however, China's exports to other parts of the world have increased significantly, completely offsetting the decline in exports to the US. Especially exports to Southeast Asian countries increased by 23% year-on-year. Exports to the European Union increased by 10%, mainly due to the popularity of oil-electric hybrid cars, which were not affected by the electric vehicle tariffs imposed by Brussels in October 2024. China's exports to Africa have even surged by 26%.
Trump's radical trade policy has even led to a warming of Sino-Indian relations. On August 31, Indian Prime Minister Modi attended the SCO summit in Tianjin and publicly emphasized the consensus with China. Although according to Bloomberg, India has recently received about 50 anti-dumping investigation applications against China, Vietnam, and other countries.
At the same time, Beijing has deepened its cooperation with Brazil. Brazil has also been severely hit by US tariffs, while China has increased its purchases of Brazilian agricultural products, especially soybeans. To make up for the gap left by no longer importing US soybeans, China imported 85% of its total soybean volume from Brazil in August 2025, reaching a record high of 12.2 million tons.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1844821917375498/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.