(Bloomberg) — Chinese exports rose less than expected last month as the worst drop in shipments to the US in more than five years counteracted strong demand from other markets.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Exports rose almost 5% from a year ago to $316 billion in May, slower than economists’ forecast of 6% growth. Despite record exports so far this year, the slump in US demand may have been one factor in convincing Beijing to sit down with US President Donald Trump’s trade negotiators in Geneva and agree to a tariff truce.
China’s exports to the US fell 34.4%, according to Bloomberg News calculations, the most since February 2020, when the first wave of the pandemic shut down the Chinese economy. That was despite the agreement reached May 12 that gave temporary relief to imports from China that would have faced as much as 145% duties.
That sharp decline offset a 11% rise in exports to other countries, showing the heft of the world’s largest economy even as Beijing reduced its reliance on direct shipments to the market after Trump’s first term.
The benchmark CSI 300 Index (000300.SS) for onshore stocks pared gains after the release and was up 0.2% at the lunch break.
“The trade outlook remains highly uncertain at this stage,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. He added that frontloading should help sustain export momentum in June but may fade in the coming months.
Shipments to Vietnam jumped 22%, rising above $17 billion for the third straight month as Chinese companies continued to ship through third countries to try to avoid US tariffs. However that flow is pushing up the US trade deficit with Vietnam and other nations, further complicating negotiations with the US about their own tariffs.
The data showed a recovery in shipments of rare earth elements, which have become one of the key points of US-China contention.
Earlier this year China imposed an export license requirement on some of the elements and products such as magnets, radically slowing down shipments and forcing manufacturers globally to halt some production lines. Beijing’s grip on these exports will be top of the agenda when trade negotiators meet in London for talks later on Monday.
Weak Chinese Demand
Imports fell 3.4% for a third straight month of declines, leaving a trade surplus of $103 billion, according to official data released Monday.
