Nearly a year after U.S. President Donald Trump announced “Liberation Day” tariffs that spooked exporters and customers around the world, China’s factories and ports are now abuzz with activity, CNBC reported.
Factory activity in China typically picks up at the start of the year as manufacturers rush to fill orders and ship goods before the country enters an extended holiday period to celebrate the Chinese New Year. And Beijing is seeing a strong pre-holiday rush despite Trump’s tariffs.
The Guangdong-based electronics maker told CNBC that its factory was operating at near full capacity after seeing a year of stop-start tariff threats: “We’re very busy,” he said, adding: “It’s back to a situation where it’s like the tariffs don’t exist. American customers don’t think about (buying) from other places.” However, some clients have to pay additional costs to have their goods manufactured and shipped before the holiday, the Guangdong-based manufacturer said.
Citing data from the China Beige Book, which tracks economic data, the report added that factories saw a jump in orders, production and profits ahead of the New Year holiday. The company estimates that in January 2026, China’s industrial production jumped compared to 2026, with both domestic and international orders “accelerating sharply year-on-year and month-on-month.”
Read also | Beijing is asking banks to dump US Treasuries a week before Trump’s visit to China
A Chinese port handled 40% more containers in the week ending February 1
Major Chinese ports handled 40% more shipping containers in the week ending Feb. 1 compared to the same period last year, marking the fastest year-on-year growth in more than a year and well ahead of an average weekly growth of 10% in 2025, the report said, citing HSBC Bank analysts.
In Ningbo, China’s most important maritime hub, terminals were operating “beyond capacity, with individual vessels overcrowded by more than 20% and container entry suspended,” said Jay Guo, dean of the Ningbo China Institute for Supply Chain Innovation.
Read also | Factory activity in China fell for a sixth straight month as trade tensions weighed on the economy
The increase in freight prices
According to the report, the transportation prices increased due to the surge in activity caused by the holiday. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, which tracks the cost of shipping containers leaving Shanghai to major global markets, hovered between 1,400 and 1,656 in early January, according to HSBC’s freight tracker report released on Monday. That compares with its 15-year historical average range of roughly 1,337 to 1,568.
HSBC’s freight report indicated that shipments of large containers to the US remained higher than the corresponding period in both 2024 and 2025 for most of January and continued into February.
Has the customs tension subsided?
Chinese companies are now moving forward with new product development as tariff tensions between Beijing and Washington appear to have eased. In October 2025, after Trump met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Beijing secured a one-year truce that kept tariffs on Chinese goods to the US low.
Read also | US-China trade easing is fragile. Soybeans are a warning sign.
However, for most of 2025, China increased its exports to alternative markets in Southeast Asia and Europe while reducing its direct supplies to the Americas.
Manufacturers also believe that American customer interest in new products has significantly recovered and that the situation has stabilized since the tariffs were first announced.
After meeting with Beijing in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025, Trump reduced tariffs on China to 47% from a previously announced 57% in exchange for Beijing’s commitment to curb the flow of fentanyl-based chemicals to the US.