Recently, data released by the General Administration of Customs of China showed that the country's trade surplus reached $1.08 trillion in the first 11 months of 2025, breaking the $1 trillion mark for the first time. 

This is a strong testament to the robust resilience of China's foreign trade. Yet some have seized the opportunity to hype up the so-called "second wave of China shock" and falsely accuse China of pursuing a "neighborhood impoverishment strategy". A close observation reveals that various versions of the "China shock theory" surface from time to time with new rhetoric emerging one after another, all following the old trope of the "China threat theory".

Is it "dumping excess capacity", or mutually beneficial trade exchanges? From an economic perspective, the so-called "excess capacity" is a false proposition. In today's era of economic globalization, countries participate in international trade by virtue of their comparative advantages to realize the optimal allocation of global resources – a significant progress in the way humans engage in economic cooperation. A country's production takes into account both domestic and international market demands, and China's exports are normal trade under the principle of comparative advantage.

The international criteria for determining dumping are that a product is exported at a price lower than its normal value, causing material injury or threat to the relevant industries of the importing country, and that a causal relationship exists between the two. China boasts the world's most complete industrial system, an efficient logistics system, a large pool of high-caliber talents and sustained R&D investment. The competitiveness of Chinese goods stems from economies of scale, a complete industrial chain and technological progress. When the market has demand, products offer cost performance, and all parties benefit.

Is it "crowding out development space", or enabling development through cooperation? Judging from the structure of China's export commodities, intermediate goods and capital goods are the main drivers of overall export growth. Moreover, Chinese enterprises are vigorously promoting the localization of supply chains. Leading Chinese automakers such as Great Wall Motors and SAIC Motor have successively set up factories in Thailand and Indonesia, and the local production ratio at BYD's Thailand plant has reached 54%. China's "technology spillover effect" has effectively raised the local industrial level. Midea Group has built Southeast Asia's first 5G fully connected air-conditioning factory in Thailand, and its 5G+AI quality inspection technology has significantly improved factory efficiency.

China is actively advancing high-standard opening-up and hosts exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo and the China International Fair for Trade in Services every year, from which many neighboring countries have reaped substantial benefits. In the first 10 months of 2025, the trade volume of agricultural and food products between China and ASEAN reached $51.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%. 

Among them, China's imports of fresh and dried fruits and melons from ASEAN exceeded $10 billion, accounting for more than two-thirds of its total imports of such products from the world. China is the world's second-largest importer of trade in services, with a particularly strong demand in the tourism service sector. It has long been an important source of tourists for neighboring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

China's trade and investment have provided local young people with more diverse and promising career options. Adhering to the concept of "skills training going hand in hand with production, and schools cooperating with enterprises", China has effectively raised the level of local labor forces.