Why China’s export-maximizing strategy is working—for now
China's trade surplus reached $1.2 trillion in 2025, the largest in history, driven by a deliberate strategy of self-sufficiency that discourages private consumption and subsidizes industrial investment. The strategy rests on three pillars: industrial, financial, and geopolitical, which together have displaced Western producers and created dependencies through infrastructure financing and control over critical minerals. Internal strains, such as a shrinking workforce and youth unemployment, are managed through a repressive political system, and the model may lead to external assertion if internal contradictions worsen.
Why it matters: This analysis directly addresses the theme of global imbalances and geopolitical competition, highlighting how China's mercantilist strategy challenges Western economic and political stability.