A cargo ship loads and unloads containers at the Qianwan Container Terminal of Qingdao Port in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China, on July 10, 2025. <\/p>\n
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images <\/p>\n
China’s exports growth beat expectations in June, buoyed by robust shipments to non-U.S. markets and as a temporary reprieve from U.S. tariffs helped slow the decline in goods sent to America.<\/p>\n
Exports jumped 5.8% in June in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, customs data showed Monday<\/a>, exceeding Reuters’ poll estimates of a 5% rise.<\/p>\n Imports climbed 1.1% from a year earlier. While missing economists’ expectations of a 1.3% rise, that marked the first time that imports have grown this year, reversing the trend of declining imports this year amid sluggish domestic demand.<\/p>\n China’s exports to the U.S. dropped for a third month, falling over 16.1% in June, but the decline eased from the prior month amid a tariff truce. Imports in June dropped 15.5%. That compares with a 34% drop in exports in May, and imports decline of 18%.<\/p>\n The county’s shipments to Southeast Asian nations surged 16.8% from a year ago and those to European Union countries jumped 7.6%, according to a CNBC calculation of the official trade data. Imports from these regions were little changed, rising 0.08% and 0.41%, respectively.<\/p>\n In the first half of this year, Chinese exports jumped 5.9% from a year earlier, while imports slumped 3.9%, customs data showed<\/a>, with a trade surplus of $585.96 billion \u2014 nearly 35% higher from a year earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have prompted Chinese exporters to accelerate efforts to diversify into alternative markets. In April and May, China’s exports appeared resilient, jumping 8.1%<\/a> and 4.8% year on year, respectively<\/a>, as surging shipments to Southeast Asian and European Union countries offset the declines in U.S.-bound goods.<\/p>\n Trump’s 145% prohibitive tariffs on Chinese goods<\/a> briefly took effect in April, with Beijing retaliating with triple-digit duties and other punitive measures, such as export control on critical minerals.<\/p>\n The tentative trade truce struck by both sides in Switzerland on May 12 \u2014 that led them to drop a majority of tariffs for 90 days \u2014 had nearly derailed, as the U.S. accused China of slow-walking on its pledge to ease restrictions on rare-earth exports while Beijing lashed out on fresh tech export curbs and student visa revocation by Washington.<\/p>\n Ties between the world’s two biggest economies have been on the mend following two days of meeting in London<\/a> last month, where both sides arrived at a framework to implement the consensus. Beijing agreed to resume shipments of rare earths while Washington offered to ease some export restrictions on ethane, chip-design software and jet engine components.<\/p>\n Both sides are working toward an Aug. 12 deadline to reach a durable deal.<\/p>\n Wang Lingjun, deputy chief of Chinese customs authority, said in a press conference Monday that the Geneva agreement and the London framework were “hard-won” and both sides were accelerating to implement the agreed terms.<\/p>\n U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that he had “constructive and pragmatic”<\/a> talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the odds of Trump meeting<\/a> Chinese President Xi Jinping were high.<\/p>\n