Chinese exports and imports soared in July, official data showed Friday, as the manufacturing powerhouse benefits from a global AI boom lifting overseas demand for its tech products.
The world’s second-largest economy last year achieved a historic trade surplus of nearly US$1.2 trillion, helping its manufacturing sector through a prolonged slump in domestic consumption.
The export boom has been propelled further this year by increased demand for Chinese data-processing equipment and related components, as companies rush to build artificial intelligence capacity.
Exports climbed 23.9 percent year-on-year last month, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) reported, compared with a 23.0 percent forecast by Bloomberg.
Overseas shipments of computers and related parts jumped 45.2 percent on year in the first seven months, the data showed.
“Export and import values remain elevated, helped by soaring global demand for electronics and green tech products,” wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.
China’s trade surplus appears to be on pace to match that of last year, reaching US$687 billion through the end of July, the data showed Friday.
The yawning gap has increasingly raised eyebrows abroad — particularly in Europe, where leaders worry about floods of Chinese exports squeezing out local manufacturers.
Beijing has insisted it never deliberately pursued a trade surplus.
The Communist Party’s Politburo — the decision-making body headed by President Xi Jinping — urged a more “balanced” trade development at a key meeting late last month.
China-US flare-up
“Export growth continued to support the economy in July,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note after Friday’s data.
“I expect intense negotiations between China and (its) major trading partners in coming months on what can be done to make trade more balanced,” he added.
Imports increased 27.5 percent in July, extending this year’s strong performance even as main indicators of domestic demand have remained weak.
However, that was slower than the 36 percent surge seen in June, and also missed a Bloomberg forecast of 29.5 percent growth.
The growth has been achieved despite considerable pressure on the global trading system from the war in the Middle East and simmering trade frictions between Beijing and Washington.
China’s shipments to the United States rose 17 percent year-on-year last month, Friday’s data showed, as the countries remain locked in a trade war despite efforts to ease tensions.
That brought China’s surplus with its superpower rival this year to nearly US$171 billion through the end of July, according to the official data.
The latest figures come days after a fresh flare-up in trade tensions between the world’s top two economies.
Following sanctions imposed by Washington over forced labour and national security concerns, Beijing on Wednesday announced restrictions on drone exports to the United States and blacklisted six firms.
China and the United States spent much of last year embroiled in an escalating trade war but reached a truce when US President Donald Trump met Xi in October.
The relationship will undergo further scrutiny in coming weeks as officials prepare for a scheduled state visit by Xi to the United States in late September.
