BANGKOK — China’s exports surged 7.2 per cent in July from a year earlier while its imports grew at the fastest pace in a year, as businesses rushed to take advantage of a truce in U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Beijing.
However, analysts said the improvement also reflected a low base for comparison in July 2024.
Exports to the United States sank nearly 22 per cent year-on-year, while imports from America fell almost 19 per cent. But exports to Africa and Southeast Asia surged at double-digit rates as Chinese businesses diverted sales to other markets.
Tariffs on Chinese goods are being considered separately from the new higher tariffs that took effect on Thursday for dozens of U.S. trading partners.
China’s global trade surplus for 2025 rose to US$683.5 billion by the end of July, nearly a third higher than the surplus for the same period last year. The data showed that China’s surplus in July was $98.2 billion, while its exports to the United States were $23.7 billion than its imports of U.S. goods.
U.S. imports from China are subject to tariffs of at least 30 per cent, with some products facing much higher import duties. Trump earlier had ordered still higher rates of up to 245 per cent, and Beijing responded in kind, but the two sides agreed to pause those to allow time for trade talks. It’s unclear if the truce will be extended beyond an Aug. 12 deadline following the latest round of negotiations last week in Sweden.
The Trump administration has also raised tariffs on imports from countries other than China that it suspects of being “transshipped” via other countries. For example, the import duty on Vietnam’s exports to the U.S. now stands at 20 per cent. For transshipped goods, it’s 40 per cent.
“With the temporary boost to demand from the U.S.-China trade truce already fading and tariffs on shipments rerouted via other countries now rising, exports look set to remain under pressure in the near term,” Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report.
Economists had been expecting China’s dollar-denominated exports to grow less than 6 per cent in annual terms in July, on a par with June’s 5.8 per cent rate.
But improved trade with the rest of the world has helped offset the impact of Trump’s trade war. Imports rose 4.1 per cent last month from a year earlier, the most since July 2024, with higher shipments of crude oil, copper and soybeans.
China’s exports of rare earths that are vital for making many high-tech and other products and Trump has made ensuring U.S. access to such vital minerals a key part of trade negotiations, leading Beijing to promise to loosen some controls.
In July, China’s exports of rare earths fell 17.6 per cent, compared with a nearly 50 per cent fall the month before. In January-July, its rare earths exports fell 24.2 per cent in dollar terms although they rose more than 13 per cent by volume.
Exports of vehicles, fertilizer, ships and auto parts also saw strong growth.
Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press
