BEIJING — China's exports increased by 19.4 percent in May compared to the previous year in U.S. dollar terms, according to customs data. The country's trade surplus reached $105.4 billion during the same month.
Imports also rose by 27.4 percent in May year-over-year in U.S. dollar terms. For the first five months of the year, China's imports grew by 24.5 percent year-over-year, and exports expanded by 15.5 percent year-over-year.
Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said, "China delivered strong export growth despite global economic uncertainty and appreciation of the renminbi this year."
Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC, said, "Despite strong export performance, the number of manufacturing jobs continues to contract." He attributed the decline in manufacturing employment to productivity improvements driven by automation.
China's official manufacturing activity index fell to 50 in May, which marks the boundary between economic expansion and contraction. The CSI 300 index increased by 0.6 percent on Tuesday.
Xiangrong Yu, chief China economist at Citi Bank, said, "We expect the AI boom to support production and trade." Yu also projected that retail sales growth could fall to zero percent in May, following a 0.2 percent increase in April.
Economists characterize China's current economic growth pattern as divergent, with manufacturing and export sectors expanding while property and consumer spending sectors remain weak. China's industrial production and retail sales recorded lower growth rates in April compared to previous years. Analysts at Bank of America Global Research stated that weak overall demand and ongoing domestic substitution indicate genuine trade rebalancing remains distant.