China April exports rebound strongly after sluggish March, trade surplus widens

SHENZHEN, CHINA - APRIL 12: A Chinese national flag is seen in the foreground with container ships, cranes, and stacked shipping containers at the Yantian International Container Terminal under cloudy skies, on April 12, 2025 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Cheng Xin/) Cheng Xin | News | China's export growth gathered pace in April as factories raced to meet a wave of overseas orders from buyers seeking to stockpile components amid fears the Iran war could push global input costs even higher. Exports expanded 14.1% from a year earlier in U.S. dollar value terms, customs data showed on Saturday, outpacing the 2.5% gain in March and a 7.9% rise tipped by economists. Chinese exporters have so far weathered the fallout from the Middle East conflict, buoyed by overseas buyers scrambling to secure supplies, but economists warn that the longer the war drags on and energy prices rise, the greater the risk that external demand fades away -- leaving sluggish domestic consumption unable to plug the gap. New export orders rose to their highest level in two years, separate factory activity data for April showed last month. Imports notched another strong month in April, climbing 25.3% versus 27.8% in March. Economists had forecasted growth of 15.2%. That boosted China's trade surplus last month to $84.8 billion, from $51.13 billion in March. …