China's current account surplus widened to $184.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from $163.6 billion a year earlier, marking a record high for the period. The figure was also revised slightly upward from the preliminary estimate of $184.1 billion.
The goods surplus increased to $187.9 billion from $178.2 billion, supported by a 14.6% surge in exports to $1.061 trillion. Persistent domestic economic weakness has kept manufacturing capacity growing faster than domestic demand, pushing producers to depend more heavily on foreign markets to absorb excess output.
By contrast, the services account remained broadly stable, with the deficit at $59.6 billion compared with $59.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
On the income side, the primary income account deficit narrowed sharply to $7.4 billion from $15.5 billion, while the secondary income surplus edged up to $3.8 billion from $2.8 billion.
