China’s export growth in July sharply beat market expectations as the clock on a tariff truce with the U.S. keeps ticking, while imports rose to their highest in a year.

Exports climbed 7.2% in July in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, customs data showed Thursday, exceeding Reuters-polled economists’ estimates of a 5.4% rise.

Imports rose 4.1% last month from a year earlier, marking the biggest jump since July 2024, according to LSEG data. The data also indicated a recovery in import levels following June’s 1.1% rebound. Economists had forecast imports in July to fall 1.0%, according to a Reuters poll.

On a year-to-date basis, China’s overall exports jumped 6.1% from a year earlier, while imports fell 2.7%, customs data showed. China’s trade surplus this year, as of July, reached $683.5 billion, 32% higher than the same period in 2024.

China’s exports have supported the economy “strongly” so far this year, said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, cautioning that the momentum of businesses’ shipment front-loading may soon fade.

However, Beijing’s exports to the U.S. fell for the fourth consecutive month on a year-over-year basis. In July, it shrank 21.7% from a year earlier. Imports from the U.S. also dropped 18.9% year over year.

July’s export declines were largely offset by shipments diverted to alternative markets such as Southeast Asia, which increased 16.6%, while imports fell 5.8% from a year earlier. China’s exports to the European Union also rose 9.2% while imports fell 1.6%.

In July, China’s exports of rare earths surged 21.4% from a year ago to 5,994.3 tones while auto exports grew 26% to 694,000 units. Exports of semiconductors rose 16% from a year ago to 31.8 billion units.

China’s imports of soybeans rose 18.4% to 11.66 million tones, while crude oil imports grew 11.5% from a year earlier.

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Sources: CNBC