China Exports, Imports Surge on AI Boom

China’s exports and imports surged at their fastest pace in nearly five years in June, surpassing market expectations as rising prices for artificial intelligence-related products boosted trade.

Overseas shipments jumped 27% from a year earlier to $412.4 billion last month, the strongest growth since October 2021, while imports soared 36% to $286.8 billion, logging the fastest increase since June 2021, according to customs data released Tuesday. Both figures beat the upper ends of economists' forecasts in a recent Caixin survey, which estimated average export growth of 17.7% and average import growth of 24.8%.