But the first-half trade data could sway the Trump administration to tighten its tariff noose on China and the south-east Asian countries that it accuses of permitting transshipment, or rerouting Chinese goods to the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n
China\u2019s June export growth beat a 5 per cent rise predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll as well as 4.8 per cent growth in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n Imports last month rose 1.1 per cent on a year earlier in dollars, weaker than analysts\u2019 forecasts of 1.3 per cent but reversing a 3.4 per cent decline in May and marking the first expansion since December.<\/p>\n \u201cThe temporary tariff reprieve granted at the US-China emergency trade talks\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009has given Chinese exporters some breathing space, with rising frontloading demand,\u201d Kelvin Lam, senior China+ economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The US and China agreed in London to reduce their tariffs from levels as high as 145 per cent while they negotiate relief from export restrictions on Chinese rare earths and US advanced technology such as semiconductors. Late last month, Trump said the sides had \u201csigned\u201d a trade deal<\/a> to formalise that truce.<\/p>\n Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s government has depended on exports to boost GDP growth at a time when domestic consumption has lagged behind amid a prolonged property sector slowdown.<\/p>\n Beijing has also invested heavily in manufacturing<\/a> to try to meet its GDP target for this year of about 5 per cent. Analysts have predicted that China on Tuesday will report second-quarter GDP growth in excess of that target, at about 5.1 per cent year on year. <\/p>\n China\u2019s benchmark CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks rose 0.1 per cent on Monday, while the renminbi was flat at Rmb7.17 per dollar.<\/p>\n While Beijing did not immediately release dollar-denominated figures for trade with individual countries, exports to the US fell 9.9 per cent year on year in renminbi terms between January and June, while its imports declined 7.7 per cent. <\/p>\n Exports to Russia dropped 7.4 per cent over the same term, while imports decreased 8.6 per cent. <\/p>\n Exports to the EU, meanwhile, rose 7.9 per cent in the first half of the year in renminbi terms while imports dropped 4.8 per cent. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The rise comes ahead of a summit<\/a> next week in Beijing between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Xi at which the bloc is expected to express its concern about the diversion of Chinese products to its markets. <\/p>\n Exports to countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which the US accuses of transshipment<\/a> of Chinese exports, rose 14.3 per cent, while imports increased 2.3 per cent in the first half.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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