China exports growth misses expectations despite tariff truce; imports plunge amid weak consumption

China's exports growth missed expectations in May, despite a temporary trade truce with the U.S. that prompted businesses to frontload shipments and capitalize on the 90-day pause on steep duties.

Exports rose 4.8% last month in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, customs data showed Monday, shy of Reuters' poll estimates of a 5% jump.

Imports plunged 3.4% in May from a year earlier, a drastic drop compared to economists' expectations of a 0.9% fall. Imports had been declining this year, largely owed to sluggish domestic demand.

Exports had surged 8.1% in April as a jump in shipment to Southeast Asian countries offset a sharp drop in outbound goods to the U.S. Chinese shipment to the U.S. plunged over 21% in April, as prohibitive tariffs kicked in.

U.S. President Donald Trump's prohibitive 145% tariffs on Chinese goods took effect in April, with Beijing retaliating with triple-digit duties and other restrictive measures, such as export controls on critical minerals.

U.S. and China struck a preliminary deal in Geneva, Switzerland, last month that led both sides to drop a majority of tariffs. Washington's levies on Chinese goods now stand at 51.1% while Beijing's duties on American imports are at 32.6%, according to think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The temporary tariff ceasefire is expected to have triggered a renewed surge in trade as exporters and importers alike in China and the U.S. seek to frontload shipments, sending shipping costs soaring.

Chinese Vice Premier and lead trade representative He Lifeng is expected to meet with the U.S. trade negotiation team led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in London later in the day for renewed trade talks.

The second-round of meetings come after tensions flared up again between the two sides, as they accused each other of violating the Geneva trade agreement.

Washington had blamed Beijing for slow-walking its pledge to approve the export of additional critical minerals to the U.S., while China criticized the U.S. decision to impose new restrictions on Chinese student visas and additional export restrictions on chips.

China's Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that it would continue to review and approve applications for export of rare earths, citing growing demand for the minerals in robotics and new energy vehicle sectors.

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