China’s exports increased to a record high in 2024, giving a much-needed boost for the economy as the prospect of biting tariffs imposed by US president-elect Donald Trump looms.

Overseas shipments represented a rare bright spot for Beijing in 2024 as sluggish domestic consumption and a prolonged crisis in the property sector dragged on growth.

Trump, who imposed sweeping tariffs on China during his first term in office, threatened even bigger levies when he returns to the White House in a week.

Observers opined that a recent surge in China’s exports has likely been boosted by companies ramping up stockpiles ahead of Trump’s second term amid fears of a painful trade war.

A spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, Lu Daliang, at a news conference, said: “In 2024, China’s total exports exceeded 25 trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 25.45 trillion yuan ($3.47 trillion), an increase of 7.1 percent year-on-year.”

Total imports, meanwhile, increased by 2.3 percent to 18.39 trillion yuan, Lu added.

Combined trade swelled five percent to reach a record 43.85 trillion yuan, said Wang Lingjun, vice minister of the customs administration.

“China’s position as the world’s largest goods trading nation has become even more secure,” Wang added.

Official customs data showed Monday that exports in December jumped 10.7 percent year-on-year, comfortably outperforming a forecast of 7.5 percent in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

“We expect shipments to remain strong in the coming months, as US importers continue to stockpile Chinese goods ahead of tariff hikes,” Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.

“But exports are likely to weaken later this year as President Trump puts his tariff threats into action,” she added.

Imports last month grew one percent year-on-year, customs data showed, compared with a Bloomberg forecast of a one percent decline.