China's exports grow 7.6% in May, beating expectations despite trade tensions

abcnews.go.com:

China’s exports for May grew at their fastest pace in more than a year despite trade tensions, though imports fell short of analyst expectations, according to customs data released Friday

HONG KONG — China’s exports in May grew at their fastest pace in more than a year despite trade tensions, though imports fell short of analyst expectations, according to customs data released Friday.

Exports jumped 7.6% in May from the same month last year to $302.35 billion, rising at the fastest pace since April 2023. Imports rose by 1.8% to $219.73 billion, missing estimates of about 4% growth.

The uptick in exports is also partly due to a lower base in the same period last year, when exports declined 7.5%.

In comparison, exports grew by 1.5% in April compared with the same period last year, while April imports rose by 8.4%.

The strong exports caused China’s trade surplus to widen to $82.62 billion, up from April’s $72.35 billion.

The growth in exports comes as China faces escalated trade tensions with the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. is ramping up tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars while Europe is considering levying similar tariffs.

“Foreign tariffs are unlikely to immediately threaten exports; if anything, they may boost exports at the margin as firms speed up shipments to front-run the duties.” said Zichun Huang of Capital Economics in a note.

Huang also said that exports would be supported by a weaker real effective exchange rate.

“Import volumes were little changed last month, but they will probably rise soon, with increased government spending supporting the import-intensive construction sector,” she said.

The 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained the largest destination for Chinese products,