A container sits at the port of Yangshan in Shanghai, China, on August 6, 2019.
Ally Song | Reuters
BEIJING — China’s exports grew at a faster pace than expected in May, while imports fell short of expectations, customs data showed on Friday.
Exports in US dollar terms rose 7.6 percent in May from a year earlier, beating expectations of a 6 percent increase, according to a Reuters survey.
However, imports grew 1.8 percent over the same period, missing a Reuters forecast of a 4.2 percent increase.
China’s exports rose 1.5% year-on-year in April, while imports rose 8.4%. In the first five months of the year, exports rose 2.7% year-on-year in US dollar terms, while imports rose 2.9%.
China’s exports and imports to the US and EU fell during the period, according to CNBC calculations based on official data. But trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased, with Chinese exports to the region up 4.1% from a year earlier in the January-May period. Chinese exports to Russia fell during the same period, but imports from Russia rose 7.5%.
China’s ship exports nearly doubled in the first five months of the year from a year earlier, while exports of automobiles and integrated circuits rose 20 percent each. Exports of rare earths, fertilizer and mobile phones fell.
As a gauge of domestic demand, China’s crude oil imports were little changed in the first five months of this year compared with the same period in 2023. China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil.
Chinese exports are holding up despite trade tensions with the United States, supporting overall economic growth.
According to the Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, new export orders increased for the fifth consecutive month in May, but the rate of growth slowed.
But the International Monetary Fund said last week that global trade restrictions are on the rise, rising to about 3,000 last year from 1,000 in 2019, before the pandemic.
