Chinese exports soared in March

CHINESE EXPORTS soared more than 12 percent last month, according to data yesterday, beating expectations as businesses rushed to get ahead of swingeing tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on his so-called “Liberation Day”.

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Beijing and Washington have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes pas of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that has particularly targeted Chinese imports.

Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145%, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125% toll on US imports.

Figures from the General Administration of Customs showed a 12.4% jump in overseas shipments, more than double the 4.6% predicted in a Bloomberg survey.

Imports during the same period fell 4.3%, an improvement on the first two months of the year in a sign that domestic consumption was rebounding.