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Guest Essay

By Eswar Prasad

Mr. Prasad is a professor of trade policy in the Dyson School at Cornell University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

China’s trade surplus — the amount by which its exports exceed its imports — hit a staggering $1.19 trillion in 2025, according to official numbers released on Wednesday. The figure shows just how much China is an exporting powerhouse but is also a sign of its economic weakness and of how its practices pose a greater danger to free trade than even President Trump’s tariffs.

The tariffs undoubtedly took a hammer to free trade. With the United States retreating from its........

© The New York Times