China's April exports rise 8.1%, imports dip 0.2% despite slowdown fears

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 1.9 per cent increase in exports and a 5.9 per cent drop in imports

China's exports rose 8.1 per cent in April from the year before, much more than economists were expecting, in the tail end of a rush by companies and consumers to beat higher US tariffs that took effect last month.

Most forecasts were that exports in April would grow about 2 per cent, down from a whopping 12.4 per cent year-on-year increase in March.

Imports fell 0.2 per cent in April from the year before.

China's politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States was nearly $20.5 billion in April.

Exports to the United States form just a part of China's total exports, and trade with the rest of the world has remained resilient. Preliminary data also show that US imports from other countries not subject to US President Donald Trump's 145 per cent tariff on Chinese products are rising quickly.

China's exports to other countries and regions rose at a robust pace in the first four months of the year. Exports to Southeast Asian countries were up 11.5 per cent from a year earlier. Exports to Latin America also climbed 11.5 per cent. Shipments to India jumped nearly 16 per cent by value, and exports to Africa surged 15 per cent.

In the first four months of the year, exports to the United States were down 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, while imports from the US fell 4.7 per cent.

But figures for the beginning of 2025 show the tariffs and other measures related to Trump's trade war are having an impact. Measured on a monthly basis, in April China's total exports rose just 0.6 per cent from March, while imports increased by nearly 4 per cent.