China trade beats forecasts in September as tariff fears rise

BEIJING: China’s overseas trade grew at a faster pace than expected last month, official data showed Monday, amid fresh fears of a major escalation in the tariff war between Beijing and Washington.

Exports jumped 8.3 percent year on year in September, the General Administration of Customs said, beating a Bloomberg forecast of 6.6 percent.

Imports rose 7.4 percent, the data showed, significantly outpacing a Bloomberg forecast of 1.9 percent.

The figures are a promising sign for the Chinese economy, which has in recent years been mired in a persistent spending slump just as pressure on its export-reliant manufacturing sector intensifies.

Shipments to the United States — the world’s largest consumer market — picked up last month to reach $34.3 billion, the data showed.

The figure marked an 8.6 percent rise from the $31.6 billion recorded in August.

Concerns spiked over the weekend that this year’s trade war between the world’s top two economies will worsen further following US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose additional 100 percent tariffs to all Chinese goods.

Beijing, in turn, accused Washington of acting unfairly, with its Ministry of Commerce on Sunday calling the threat a “typical example of ‘double standards'”.

Trump struck a more conciliatory tone on Sunday, writing in a social media post that the United States “wants to help China, not hurt it”.