Yangshan Deepwater Container Port in Shanghai, China.
Qilai Shen | Corbis Historical | Getty Images
China said on Monday its overall trade surplus last month was $41.65 billion, significantly more than expected as the trade impasse between Washington and Beijing drags on.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected China to post an overall trade surplus of $20.5 billion in May.
The country’s dollar-denominated exports for May inched up 1.1%, while imports fell 8.5%, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs. The economists had forecast China’s dollar-denominated exports and imports to both fall 3.8% year-on-year.
The Chinese overall trade surplus in April was $13.8 billion, customs data showed, far below the projected $35 billion. That’s partly due to an unexpected rise of 4% in imports, and a surprise fall of 2.7% in exports for the month.
High-level negotiations between the U.S. and China stalled after President Donald Trump last month raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Trump threatened that more levies could come — a point reiterated by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who told CNBC the president “is perfectly happy” to increase tariffs on China if his expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping doesn’t go well.
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