Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:China’s exports rose 14.1 per cent in April from a year earlier, the government said on May 9, despite the Iran war and lingering impacts from higher U.S. tariffs.
The data were released just days ahead of a planned meeting next week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
That beat analysts’ estimates and was a significant improvement from March’s 2.5 per cent year-on-year expansion. Exports to the US rose 11.3 per cent from the year before, up from a 26.5 per cent drop in March. Imports climbed 25.3 per cent, slower than the 27.8 per cent growth in March but still robust.
The Trump-Xi summit comes at a time when relations are beset by multiple issues, with efforts to end the war in Iran eclipsing the usual sources of friction.
“We’re expecting that overall external demand will remain a solid driver of growth this year,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at Dutch bank ING, likely led by China’s exports of semiconductors and autos.
In March, Chinese leaders set an annual economic growth target of 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent, slightly lower than last year’s 5 per cent expansion and the lowest target since 1991. Export growth is expected to continue to power its wider economy, especially as shipments increased from China to Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa over the past months.
Impact of tariffs
China’s exports to the US have fallen for most of the months since Trump imposed steeper tariffs and harsher controls on sharing of technology after he took office last year. But trade with the US is likely improving this year, said Song.