China's exports jump 36.3% in September, far above forecasts
Shipments rise to $447 billion, while economists had expected growth of about 25%. The trade surplus keeps growing despite pressure from Washington and Brussels.
Symbolic image · Photo: Bruno Corpet (Quoique) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
China's exports rose far faster than expected in September. Customs data compiled by Trading Economics show shipments up 36.3% year on year to $447.18 billion, after a 25% gain in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast growth of 25.5%. It was the strongest increase since February. Imports also surged, climbing 31%.
The trade surplus widened to $133.5 billion from $119.1 billion in August, according to Trading Economics. Economists cited by Reuters see the global AI boom sustaining demand for Chinese high-tech products. Domestic demand remains weak, pushing manufacturers to rely more heavily on foreign markets.
The United States and the European Union have criticized China's industrial overcapacity and a trade surplus that Reuters says is on track to exceed $1 trillion this year. After a leaders' summit in Washington in September, Beijing and Washington agreed to extend their trade truce and pursue tariff cuts on $30 billion worth of goods on each side. In October, China agreed with the EU to curb hybrid car exports. Third-quarter growth data are due early next week.