China's trade surplus widens as exports jump, imports slow

China's trade surplus rose last month as exports surged to their highest in almost two years, while imports barely changed, raising concerns over ongoing weak domestic demand.

The trade balance was registered at 649.34bn yuan ($91.02bn) in August, up from CNY601.98bn in July, the General Administration of Customs reported on Tuesday.

In dollar terms, the surplus rose to $91.02bn, comfortably ahead of the $83.90bn expected by the market.

Exports grew year-on-year for the fifth straight month, rising by 8.7% – their most since March 2023 – to a 23-month high of $308.65bn. This was up from 7.0% annual growth in July and well ahead of the 6.5% increase projected by economists.

Despite ongoing political tensions over trade with the US, exports to the world's largest economy were up 4.9% on last August, while shipments to the European Union grew by 13.4%.

Exports to South Korea were also up 3.4%, while Taiwanese exports gained 6.8% and shipments to South East Asian countries gained 8.8%.

In contrast, imports were just 0.5% higher than last year at $217.63bn, slowing sharply from the 7.2% growth seen in July and below the 2.0% increase expected, with a drop in EU imports weighing on the overall balance.