China’s export growth continued to increase in July, leading to a record high trade surplus, government data cited by BTA and the Associated Press showed.
China’s exports rose 18 percent to $333 billion compared to the same period last year, according to data from Chinese customs.
Imports, however, remained weak, rising 2.3% in July from the same month a year earlier. That was below the 4% forecast by economists and speaks to weak domestic demand amid nationwide lockdowns as China tries to stem the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In July, China’s total trade surplus hit a record high of $101.3 billion, breaking the record set in June.
The country’s economy has rebounded since the start of the year, when severe COVID-19 restrictions, including a two-month lockdown of Shanghai and other measures across China, disrupted manufacturing and logistics.
In July, the International Monetary Fund forecast that China’s economy would grow 3.3 percent this year, below the ruling Communist Party’s April target of 5.5 percent growth.
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