China’s exports jump 12.4% and imports fell as Trump pushed US tariffs higher   

China’s exports jumped 12.4% in March from a year earlier as companies rushed to beat increases in US tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, the government said Monday.

Imports fell 4.3%, the customs administration reported.

It said exports from the world’s second largest economy rose 5.8% in the first three months of the year from a year earlier while imports sank 7%.

China’s trade surplus with the United States was $27.6 billion in March as its exports rose 4.5%. It logged a surplus of $76.6 billion with the US in the first quarter of the year.

China is facing 145% tariffs on most exports to the United States as of the most recent revisions in Trump’s trade policies.

However, the biggest increases in exports were to China’s Southeast Asian neighbors, which saw exports from China jump nearly 17% in March from a year earlier. Exports to Africa rose more than 11%.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was travelling to Vietnam on Monday as part of a regional tour that also will take him to Malaysia and Cambodia, giving him an opportunity to firm up trade ties with other Asian countries that also are facing potentially steep tariffs, though last week Trump delayed enforcing them by 90 days.

China’s exports to Vietnam jumped nearly 17% last month from a year earlier, while its imports fell 2.7%.

While Xi’s trip likely was planned earlier, it gained significance amid the trade war between Washington and Beijing.

A customs administration spokesperson, Lyu Daliang, said China was facing a “complex and severe external situation” but that the sky would not fall. He pointed to China’s diversified export options and huge domestic market.

When asked about falling Chinese imports, he told reporters that China has been the world’s second largest importer for 16 straight years, increasing its share of global imports from about 8% to 10.5%.

“At present and in the future, China’s import growth space is huge, and the large Chinese market is always a great opportunity for the world,” he said.