China's current account surplus rises to nearly $900 billion, Brad Setser notes

China's current account surplus rises to nearly $900 billion, Brad Setser notes
China's q3 surplus approaches $900 billion

China recorded a $276 billion current account surplus in the third quarter, bringing its total surplus over the last four quarters to nearly $900 billion, or 4.2% of its GDP. Brad Setser shared this data, describing the sum as large on a global scale and emphasizing the rapid increase since 2024.

Setser has previously observed that China’s growth is increasingly reliant on net exports, noting a 1.2 percentage point year-to-date contribution may underestimate the impact (link). In another analysis, he suggested that Korea’s larger trade surplus increase relative to Taiwan’s may have implications for firms like TSMC (link). Both findings point to persistent export-driven trends among major Asian economies.

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