Chinaโs export growth slowed in the first two months of 2025 compared to the end of 2024, a slackening observed after a late-year rush to front-load shipments ahead of looming additional tariffs from the United States.
Exports rose by 2.3 per cent from a year earlier to US$539.94 billion in the combined figures for January and February, according to customs data released on Friday.
This represented a significant drop from the 10.7 per cent recorded in December and the 7.1 per cent seen over the same period in 2024.
Imports, meanwhile, fell by 8.4 per cent from a year earlier to US$369.43 billion, the steepest drop in this metric since July 2023.
US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods on February 4 and levied another 10 percent of duties on Tuesday. In response, China carried out its own countermeasures, including retaliatory tariffs on selected US imports.
Chinaโs total trade surplus stood at US$170.5 billion for the first two months of the year, compared with US$125.1 billion during the same period in 2024.