China on Wednesday reported a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, led by booming exports to non-U.S. markets as producers looked to build global scale to fend off sustained pressure from the Trump administration.

As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives in China on Wednesday, his hosts see an opportunity to peel the longtime U.S. ally away from their rival, at least a bit. China's state media is calling on the Canadian government to set a foreign policy path independent of the United States — what it calls “strategic autonomy.