Official data shows the value of exports from China jumped 5.8 percent in June when compared with the year prior, beating the 5 percent forecast by Reuters and May’s 4.8 percent growth rate, multiple outlets report.
The rise was driven by a surge in shipments to non-US markets, which China has been working to woo as Washington’s hostile new trade policies continue to disrupt global trade dynamics.
Exports to Southeast Asian countries jumped 16.8 percent year-on-year (those to Vietnam were up by a whopping 23.8 percent), while exports to European Union countries jumped 7.6 percent, according to calculations by CNBC.
[See more: China and Vietnam to strengthen trade ties in the face of aggressive US tariffs]
The month also saw firms making the most of a tentative truce in the US-China trade war, ahead of the current 12 August deadline for reaching a formal deal. While exports to the US plunged for the third consecutive month, their 15 percent month-on-month decrease was less steep than the 34 percent drop recorded between April and May.
For the first half of the year, China’s exports were up 5.9 percent compared with the same period in 2024. That momentum was likely to slow, however, according to Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics. “[US import] tariffs are likely to remain high and Chinese manufacturers face growing constraints on their ability to rapidly expand global market share by slashing prices,” he noted.
China’s imports, meanwhile, rose for the first time this year in June – up 1.1 percent year-on-year.
