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Chinese exports posted a stronger-than-expected recovery in April.
As a global investment boom in artificial intelligence helped the trade sector cope with significant shipping disruptions caused by the war in Iran. According to a Bloomberg report, citing data from the General Administration of Customs released on Saturday, exports grew 14.1% year-on-year—almost double the 8.4% median economist forecast.
This latest recovery follows a sharp slowdown in the first month of the conflict, when trade routes across the Middle East faced unprecedented disruption. Data show that imports grew even faster than exports, up 25.3%, resulting in a trade surplus of $84.82 billion.
The "AI wave" has become the main driver of import growth, as Chinese companies ramp up purchases of high-end chips and power equipment for data centers. As a result, economists have sharply revised down their forecasts and now expect import growth to outpace export growth for the first time since 2021.
Chinese businesses demonstrated resilience in their latest manufacturing indices. The sub-index of new export orders rose in April for the first time in two years, and a private indicator of business activity for export-oriented companies reached its highest level since December 2020.
However, the conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial energy waterway. Authorities have warned that a protracted conflict could leave China vulnerable to mounting cost pressures and stagnant domestic consumption.
China's trade imbalance is expected to be a key topic at next week's summit in Beijing between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The meeting comes amid data showing that the US goods trade deficit with China widened for the third consecutive month in March. While export prices have begun to stabilize, ending three years of producer price deflation, rising energy and commodity costs could force exporters to further raise prices for overseas buyers.