The country's imports and exports saw robust growth in August, official data showed on Tuesday, helped by a global AI buildout that has fuelled demand for Chinese tech.

In US-dollar terms, exports spiked 25 percent year-on-year while imports jumped 28.2 percent, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

Shipments to the United States climbed 34.4 percent year-on-year last month, compared with the 17 percent increase seen in July.

The 28.2 percent rise in imports last month was faster than the 27.5 percent year-on-year increase in July.

Both exports and imports registered double-digit growth for a fourth straight month, and import growth exceeded that of exports for a sixth successive month.

Meanwhile, the country's trade surplus came in at US$119.09 billion in August, up from US$112.5 billion the previous month.

After achieving an historic trade surplus in 2025, China's trade has continued to boom this year, due largely to heightened overseas demand for semiconductors, computing hardware, electric vehicles, and products linked to the artificial intelligence boom.

In January through August, the value of China's exports of computers and related parts surged 49.4 percent, the GAC data showed.

“China is very competitive in its tech goods exports,” said Chi Lo, a senior market strategist for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

“China has moved aggressively up the value chain and has become a major player in AI infrastructure and industrial automation,” he said.

The boom in exports contrasts with the weaknesses in domestic consumption, investment and the property market.

While the AI wave has lifted the profits of advanced manufacturers, industries relying on the domestic market have been grappling with producer price inflation and soft demand.

Premier Li Qiang in August called for efforts to stabilise external demand and expand international trade cooperation while acknowledging insufficient domestic demand, hardships facing industries and companies as well as rising uncertainties in the international environment.

A trade truce between Beijing and Washington, reached late last year, has held despite on-and-off frictions.

The two countries are now exploring reciprocal tariff cuts on US$30 billion worth of goods from each side as they prepare for another summit between President Xi Jinping and US leader Donald Trump in Washington DC later this month. (Xinhua/Agencies)




Edited by Tony Sabine