China’s exports in May grew at their fastest pace in more than a year despite trade tensions, though imports fell short of analyst expectations, according to customs data released on Friday. Exports jumped 7.6 per cent in May from the same month last year to USD 302.35 billion, rising at the fastest pace since April 2023. Imports rose by 1.8 per cent to USD 219.73 billion, missing estimates of about 4 per cent growth.

The uptick in exports is also partly due to a lower base in the same period last year, when exports declined 7.5 per cent. In comparison, exports grew by 1.5 per cent in April compared with the same period last year, while April imports rose by 8.4 per cent.

The strong exports caused China’s trade surplus to widen to USD 82.62 billion, up from April’s USD 72.35 billion.

The growth in exports comes as China faces escalated trade tensions with the US and Europe. The US is ramping up tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars while Europe is considering levying similar tariffs.

“Foreign tariffs are unlikely to immediately threaten exports; if anything, they may boost exports at the margin as firms speed up shipments to front-run the duties.” said Zichun Huang of Capital Economics in a note. Huang also said that exports would be supported by a weaker real effective exchange rate.

“Import volumes were little changed last month, but they will probably rise soon, with increased government spending supporting the import-intensive construction sector,” she said.

The 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained the largest destination for Chinese products, with exports to ASEAN growing 9.7 per cent in May year-on-year to USD 50.83 billion.

Exports to the US grew just 0.2 per cent in May compared with the same time last year, while shipments to the European Union declined, slipping 3.9 per cent year-on-year.

Steel, automobiles, home appliances and ships were the fastest growing categories of Chinese exports. Automobiles climbed at the fastest rate, with China exporting 569,000 cars at a growth rate of 26.8 per cent compared with the same time last year.