China's trade surplus rose to its highest on record in the combined January-February period while exports massively beat expectations, underscoring the resilience of the world's second-largest economy despite trade tensions with the U.S. China typically combines January and February trade data to smooth distortions from the shifting Lunar New Year holiday. China's trade balance surged to $213.62 billion, compared with expectations of $179.6 billion and up from the 114.1 billion seen in December.