The reverse flow of trade surplus in real goods is capital flow. Therefore accumulating a trade surplus means exactly accumulating ownership of other peoples means of production (or your own back from them), and a deficit means the reverse. (see also fears of capital flight)
If means of production are on average good to have, then everyone wants a trade surplus.
It might also be reverse driven.
That is to say, blockers to economic growth and blockers of trade surpluses can often be the same things, and so the policies correlate.
The reverse flow of trade surplus in real goods is capital flow. Therefore accumulating a trade surplus means exactly accumulating ownership of other peoples means of production (or your own back from them), and a deficit means the reverse. (see also fears of capital flight)
If means of production are on average good to have, then everyone wants a trade surplus.
It might also be reverse driven.
That is to say, blockers to economic growth and blockers of trade surpluses can often be the same things, and so the policies correlate.