Despite Washington’s hefty tariffs against Beijing kicking off early in April, China’s exports surged by 9.3% year-on-year in the same month in yuan terms and 8.1% in dollar terms – a stronger-than-anticipated performance underpinned by the country’s competitiveness and effective policies, analysts and executives said. Though the uncertainty over whether the world’s two largest economies can strike a deal to ease trade tensions may still be in place for some time, they said Chinese firms will enhance innovation capabilities and diversify their global market presence to weather the storms and emerge stronger. China’s total goods imports and exports, according to the General Administration of Customs, grew 5.6% from a year before to CNY3.84 trillion in April when the U.S. escalated tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% starting April 9 – a move contrasting sharply with the 90-day tariff pause granted to dozens of other nations until July.
In the first four months, China’s exports to the United States edged down 1.5% year-on-year. The United States forms only a part of China’s total exports, and trade with the rest of the world has remained resilient. China’s exports to its biggest trade partner – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – climbed 12.6% year-on-year in the January-April period, while trade with the European Union grew 6.1% from a year earlier, Customs data showed. “Going forward, China will provide more support to export companies in exploring alternative markets beyond the U.S.,” said Feng Lin, Senior Analyst at Golden Credit Rating International. “Last year, markets outside the U.S. accounted for 85.3% of China’s total exports.” The reduced reliance on a single market, coupled with consistent efforts at technological innovation and product differentiation, will enhance the resilience of China’s export sector, Feng said.
The South China Morning Post adds that despite the absence of most American buyers, deals signed at the Spring Session of the Canton Trade Fair increased, driven by a record high in overseas attendance. The Canton Fair’s impressive performance was unexpected and has boosted export sector confidence while strengthening the public’s belief in China’s ability to cope with a prolonged trade war with the U.S. Overall transaction volume rose by 3% year-on-year to USD25.44 billion. The number of visiting overseas buyers reached a record high of 288,938, up 17.3% year-on-year. Among them, 171,750 buyers were attending for the first time, accounting for over 59% of all overseas buyers.
