China September 2026: record $133.5bn trade surplus, industrial profits up 17.8%

September's trade surplus was the largest in the data

The trade balance is the value of goods China exports minus the value it imports. China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) puts the September 2026 balance at $133.5bn (billion US dollars). That is the highest figure in this series. The previous high was $125.6bn in June. In September a year earlier the balance was $90.4bn. Total trade, meaning exports plus imports, grew 23.8% year to date.

Factory profits grew faster in September than in August

Industrial profits show what China's factories, mines and utilities earn, so they are a gauge of business health. Large and medium-sized industrial enterprises made total profits of 4.62 trillion yuan year to date through September. That is 17.8% more than a year earlier, the same rate as in August. Profits for September alone came to roughly 600bn yuan, about 20% above September 2025. Profits for August alone were up about 7%. Sales at large and medium-sized firms grew 6.8% year to date.

Profit gains were uneven across types of firm

• Profit growth at state-holding industrial enterprises rose to 13.0% year to date, from 10.1%.
• Profit growth at firms funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan slowed to 1.0%, from 2.8%.
• Industrial firms that lost money reported total losses of 1.45 trillion yuan year to date, about 12% more than a year ago.
• Losses at large and medium-sized firms grew faster, by 13.6%, up from 10.5%.
• Accounts receivable, the money customers owe to firms, grew 10.0%, up from 9.0%.

Government revenue growth slowed

Government revenue grew 5.1% year to date, down from 5.7% in August.