China's exports jump 25 percent in August as its trade surplus heads for a fresh record

According to the latest China Customs data, reported Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (17 Shahrivar 1405) by Donya-e-Eqtesad citing the Financial Times, China's dollar-denominated exports rose 25 percent year on year in August, slightly below analysts' 25.9 percent forecast but above July's 23.9 percent growth. Imports jumped 28.2 percent in August, short of the 31 percent estimate, driven largely by a 108 percent surge in imports from South Korea to a monthly record of 32.1 billion dollars, mostly for artificial intelligence chips. China's trade surplus for the first eight months of the year reached 805.5 billion dollars, above 785.3 billion dollars in the same period last year, putting Beijing on track to break its 2025 annual surplus record of 1.2 trillion dollars. The data was released ahead of China's president's planned official visit to the United States later this month, when the two countries are due to decide on extending a one-year trade war truce that expires in November.