China's exports and imports picked up in July, helped by the pause in
Trump's higher tariffs
[August 08, 2025] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — China's exports surged 7.2% 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 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% year-on-year, while imports
from America fell almost 19%. 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 $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%, with
some products facing much higher import duties. Trump earlier had
ordered still higher rates of up to 245%, 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%. For transshipped goods, it's 40%.
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Workers labor as the machines roll up copper rods at a metal melting
facility in Yuexi County, central China's Anhui Province on July 11,
2025. (Chinatopix via AP)
 “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% in annual terms in July, on a par with June's 5.8%
rate.
But improved trade with the rest of the world has helped offset the
impact of Trump's trade war. Imports rose 4.1% 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%, compared with a
nearly 50% fall the month before. In January-July, its rare earths
exports fell 24.2% in dollar terms although they rose more than 13
percent by volume.
Exports of vehicles, fertilizer, ships and auto parts also saw
strong growth.
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