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China’s exports growth showed resilience in April, defying expectations that the effects of a trade war with the US would start to bite.
Exports grew 8.1 per cent in dollar terms compared with a year earlier, according to statistics from China’s customs administration released on Friday.
That was far ahead of expectations from analysts polled by Reuters of 1.9 per cent growth, which would have been the slowest growth in almost a year, though it marked a slowdown from 12.4 per cent growth in March.
Imports shrank 0.2 per cent last month, the third consecutive month of declines.
The figures come as Washington and Beijing have descended into a trade war.
US President Donald Trump last month increased tariffs on most Chinese goods to as much as 145 per cent, and said he would impose new levies on even small-value packages from the country. Beijing responded with tariffs of 125 per cent.
The two countries will launch trade talks in Geneva on Saturday. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer will represent the US, while China has said its delegation will be led by vice-premier He Lifeng, its top economic official.
It will be the two sides’ first high-level meeting since January, when Chinese vice-president Han Zheng attended Trump’s inauguration. Bessent has said that the trade war “isn’t sustainable”.