The value of trade between China and the rest of the world, denominated in Chinese currency, increased by 8.6% in May, year-on-year, according to official data released this Friday by the Asian country’s customs authorities.
China’s foreign trade amounted to around 3.71 billion yuan (469.6 billion euros) in May.
Exports increased by 11.2%, compared to the same month last year, to 2.15 billion yuan (271.9 billion euros).
Imports grew 5.2%, to 1.56 billion yuan (197.7 billion euros).
The Chinese trade surplus thus stood at 586.4 billion yuan (74.3 billion euros) in the fifth month of the year.
In accumulated terms, between January and May, trade between China and the rest of the world increased by 6.3%, in yuan, with sales rising by 6.1% and purchases by 6.4%.
Customs also released data on foreign trade denominated in dollars, used as a reference by international analysts and normally different from data reported in Chinese currency due to exchange rate fluctuations.
Trade between China and the rest of the world denominated in US currency increased 5.1%, year-on-year, to 522.1 billion dollars (479.2 billion euros).
Exports rose 7.6% in May compared to the same month last year, to 302.4 billion dollars (277.5 billion euros), exceeding analysts’ expectations (6% ), despite trade tensions with the United States and the European Union.
On May 14, US President Joe Biden announced new tariffs worth 18 billion dollars (16.6 billion euros) on Chinese products, with electric vehicles being the hardest hit, with tariffs which rise from 25% to 100%.
The European Union is considering imposing similar tariffs.
On the contrary, imports were below what experts predicted, who expected growth of 4.2%, rising 1.8% to 219.7 billion dollars (201.7 billion euros).
Strong exports also caused China’s trade surplus to increase in May to 82.6 billion dollars (75.8 billion euros), up from 72.4 billion dollars (66.4 billion euros) registered in April.
Between January and May, Chinese trade denominated in dollars increased by 2.8% year-on-year, with the growth of imports (plus 2.9%) exceeding that of exports (plus 2.7%) .
China’s manufacturing industry activity shrank in May, after two months of expansion, according to official data released on May 31 by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics.
