Amidst Tariff War, China Registers 12.4% Growth in Exports in March

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China’s trade surplus with the United States was USD 27.6 billion in March as its exports rose 4.5%. It logged a surplus of USD 76.6 billion with the U.S. in the first quarter of the year.

China’s exports increased by 12.4% in March from a year earlier as companies rushed to beat the increase in U.S. tariffs imposed by the U.S. Imports fell 4.3%.  Exports rose by 5.8% in the first three months of the year from a year earlier, while imports declined by 7%.

China’s trade surplus with the United States was USD 27.6 billion in March as its exports rose 4.5%. It logged a surplus of USD 76.6 billion with the U.S. in the first quarter of the year. China is facing 145% tariffs on most exports to the United States as of the most recent revisions in Trump’s trade policies.

However, the biggest increases in exports were to China’s Southeast Asian neighbours, which saw exports from China jump nearly 17% in March from a year earlier. Exports to Africa rose more than 11%.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Vietnam as part of a regional tour that will also take him to Malaysia and Cambodia, allowing him to firm up trade ties with other Asian countries that also are facing potentially steep tariffs.  Last week, Trump delayed enforcing them by 90 days. China’s exports to Vietnam jumped nearly 17% last month from a year earlier, while its imports fell 2.7%.

While Xi’s trip likely was planned earlier, it gained significance amid the trade war between Washington and Beijing. A customs administration spokesperson, Lyu Daliang, said China was facing a “complex and severe external situation but that the sky would not fall. He pointed to China’s diversified export options and huge domestic market.

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China has been the world’s second largest importer for 16 straight years., Also, it has increased its share of global imports from about 8% to 10.5%.