China September exports beat expectations, imports rise at fastest pace since April 2024
A cargo ship carries foreign trade containers in the Jiaozhou Bay waterway in Qingdao, China’s Shandong Province, on August 5, 2025.
Cost photo | Nurfoto | Getty Images
While China’s exports increased at the fastest pace in six months in September, imports recorded the strongest increase in more than a year, despite the difficulty of signing a trade agreement with the United States.
Exports rose 8.3% in U.S. dollar terms in September from a year ago, beating forecasts for a 7.1% increase by economists polled by Reuters and rebounding from August’s six-month low, Chinese customs data showed on Monday.
Imports rose 7.4% last month from a year ago, according to LSEG data, marking their strongest level since April 2024, sharply beating Reuters forecasts for growth of 1.5%.
Tensions between Beijing and Washington have reignited in recent days as both sides stepped up trade barbs and related restrictions, threatening to erode progress made after several rounds of bilateral trade talks this year.
US President Donald Trump has threatened 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese exports and stricter export controls on critical software. Beijing, meanwhile, has expanded restrictions on rare earth exports (though some won’t come into effect until November) and expanded its blacklist of “untrustworthy entities” to include chip consultancy TechInsights. Authorities also launched a new antitrust investigation against the US semiconductor manufacturing giant Qualcomm.
Both sides have threatened to impose fees on each other’s ships for docking in their respective ports, effective the same day, October 14. Chinese duties will start at 400 yuan ($56) per tonne, matching the duty imposed by Washington.
USA is just compensating 0.1% of global shipbuildingcompared to 53.3% for ChinaAccording to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The reluctance of China, the world’s largest soybean importer, to continue purchasing products from the United States has further diminished hopes for a trade deal.
Trump said earlier this month: I was hoping to put pressure on the Chinese president At their planned meeting later this month to end a months-long moratorium on U.S. soybean purchases.
of china The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement early Sunday. He said the United States should step back from tariff threats and called for more talks to resolve outstanding trade issues.
“Threatening high tariffs at every opportunity is not the right way to get along with China,” the Commerce Department said. “If the US insists on its own path, China will decisively take relevant measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests.”
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