China exports rise 25% before expected Trump-Xi summit

China's exports rose 25 percent year-on-year in August and imports increased 28.2 percent, customs data showed, as demand linked to artificial intelligence supported trade before an expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

The General Administration of Customs said export growth accelerated from 23.9 percent in July. Import growth also increased from July's 27.5 percent.

The August figures were below forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists, which had projected 25.9 percent export growth and 31.0 percent import growth.

China's trade has remained a key support for its economy while domestic activity has been weak. The trade strength has been helped by overseas demand for semiconductors, computing hardware and other products linked to the global AI boom, as well as electric vehicles, consumer goods and industrial equipment.

In January through August, China's exports of computers and related parts rose 49.4 percent, according to the customs data.

“China continues to rely on the exporters to support the economy,” wrote Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

Zhang said trade imbalances had become a political issue with several key trading partners, and wrote that the US government had made clear at the G20 meeting that it was concerned about the issue.

Shipments to the United States rose 34.4 percent year-on-year in August, compared with a 17 percent increase in July.

The figures come before an expected Trump-Xi summit in Washington this month. US tariffs last year renewed turmoil in the countries' trade relationship. High levies imposed by Washington and matched by Beijing were tentatively relaxed late last year after China moved to restrict rare earth flows to the United States.

China recorded a $1.1 trillion trade surplus in 2025. Growth in exports to the European Union, Southeast Asia and Africa helped offset a drop in shipments to the United States during the tariff dispute.