The News
China’s exports grew faster than expected despite plummeting shipments to the US, pointing to the fast-changing shape of global trade as a result of hefty American tariffs.
The latest figures were largely driven by Asian manufacturers importing Chinese raw materials to produce goods ultimately bound for the US ahead of fresh tariff rises due in July. The data also indicates that Chinese companies’ “efforts to pivot to other markets are paying off,” ING economists noted, with sales to Japan and Europe accelerating.
Washington is reportedly mulling offering substantial tariff cuts as part of talks with Beijing this weekend, but the legacy of its punishing levies may be new trade patterns of which the US is not a part.
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