Chinese exports rise 12pc as tariffs fail to halt trade flows

CHINESE exports jumped by 12.2pc last month as its trade surplus with the United States stayed close to record highs despite the trade tariffs imposed by Washington.

Analysts said that the 12.2pc year-onyear rise in exports in dollar terms shows that the tariffs on $34bn (£26bn) worth of Chinese goods imposed by president Donald Trump in early July have yet to have a major effect on global trade flows.

While Chinese exports to the US fell 2.5pc in July compared with the previous month, and American goods flowing into China fell 1.5pc, some economists believe this is due to seasonal factors rather than the political skirmishes. The summer months usually have lower export numbers and Chinese exports to the EU also fell by 2.3pc in July.

The declines in shipments to the US were also offset by stronger exports to emerging markets. Some economists believe this was helped by a weaker yuan, which has fallen by 6pc against the dollar in the past three months.

Economists are still predicting that the tensions between the two nations could drag down global growth, however.

Oxford Economics yesterday revised down its forecasts of global trade growth next year by half a percentage point after taking the increasing tariffs into account. Their model suggests that growth in trade will slow from 5pc in 2018 to 4pc in 2019, which will cause a 0.7pc loss to GDP by 2020.

The same model predicts declines of 1.3pc and 1pc to Chinese and American GDP, respectively, in the same period.

More tariffs between China and the US are planned, including duties of 25pc on an additional $16bn of Chinese goods that Washington will impose in a fortnight. Beijing yesterday said it would match these with duties on US exports, including coal and oil.