China’s exports slow to weakest growth in six months

China’s export growth lost momentum in August, rising only modestly and at the slowest pace in six months, pressured by declining trade with the United States amid ongoing tariff tensions between the two countries.

Overseas shipments rose 4.4% in dollar terms year-on-year in August, compared with 7.2% in July, according to customs data released on Monday. The result fell short of the 5.0% increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

Exports to the U.S. fell for the fifth consecutive month, dropping 33.1% year-on-year, while imports from the country also declined 16%.

Overall, imports in dollar terms grew 1.3% in August, after a 4.1% jump the previous month. The figure was below the 3.0% growth expected in the Reuters poll.

As a result, China’s trade surplus reached US$102.33 billion, up from US$98.24 billion in July.

In mid-August, U.S. President Donald Trump extended by 90 days — until November 10 — the tariff truce between Washington and Beijing, but maintained an additional 30% tariff on certain Chinese products.

China, in turn, imposed a 10% tariff on U.S. goods.

Separately, the broad U.S. tariffs on nearly all of its trading partners took effect on August 7. “Reciprocal” rates for major Asian exporting economies, including Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, were raised from 10% to between 15% and 20%, effectively narrowing the gap with tariffs applied to China.

The U.S. also announced a 40% tariff on products deemed to be subject to “transshipment,” although it has yet to specify how such cases will be defined and monitored.

A private S&P Global survey showed that new export orders in China’s manufacturing sector continued to fall in August, even as overall orders increased. However, the pace of decline in exports slowed.

As the world’s second-largest economy faces growing external uncertainty and persistently weak domestic demand, investors await policy signals at the Communist Party’s Fourth Plenum in October, when China’s top leaders are expected to review development plans for the next five years starting in 2026.

Source: Valor Econômico

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