China's customs data released this week showed exports up 25% year-on-year in August, with imports rising even faster at 28.2%. The trade surplus widened as a result. The Financial Times linked part of the export strength to China's AI infrastructure build-out, which has pulled in demand for components and machinery from Chinese suppliers.
The timing matters. The data arrived ahead of a planned meeting this month between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, giving Chinese negotiators fresh evidence that export controls and tariffs have not derailed the country's trade momentum. Separately, Huawei has taken on what the FT described as a 'project management' role coordinating domestic efforts to build the components needed for deep ultraviolet (DUV) chipmaking machines, a push aimed at working around Western export controls.
What's unresolved is how durable the import surge is. A 28.2% jump in imports outpacing export growth could reflect either stronger domestic demand or restocking ahead of anticipated tariff moves, and the two would carry very different signals for China's economy heading into the Trump-Xi meeting.