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China’s exports rose sharply in April, the Chinese government said Saturday, as trade figures pointed to continued momentum just days before U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Beijing. The government reported that exports increased 14.1% from a year earlier, overcoming the weaker pace seen in March and arriving amid broader concerns about higher U.S. tariffs and Iran-war-linked strains on trade and logistics.
The April increase marked a notable improvement from March, when exports expanded 2.5% year-on-year. The government’s figures also suggested that demand from the United States strengthened compared with the prior month: it reported exports to the U.S. rose 11.3% from a year earlier, after contracting 26.5% in March.
On the import side, China reported that imports climbed 25.3% in April from the year before, though that pace lagged the 27.8% growth recorded in March. With imports also described as robust, economists said the overall trade picture is likely to continue influencing China’s growth outlook while both sides manage an uneven relationship.
The trade data were released just ahead of the planned summit next week, when Trump and Xi are expected to address a range of issues that have strained relations beyond the usual trade disputes. Reporting around the meeting pointed to efforts to end the Iran war as a major factor in the relationship, alongside trade and export controls.
Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at Dutch bank ING, said the picture in the latest data suggests external demand will remain an important driver. “We’re expecting that overall external demand will remain a solid driver of growth this year,” Song said, linking the outlook to Chinese exports including semiconductors and autos.
Earlier, Chinese officials set an annual economic growth target of 4.5% to 5%, slightly below last year’s 5% expansion and described as the lowest target since 1991. Reporting said export growth has been expected to continue powering the wider economy, including as China increased shipments in recent months to regions such as Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa.
China’s exports to the U.S. have been weaker for much of the period since Trump imposed steeper tariffs and expanded controls on sharing technology after taking office last year. Still, economists said that trade with the U.S. may be improving in part because base effects from earlier tariff-driven declines are fading, leaving room for the April surge to look stronger than it otherwise would.
Beyond tariffs and controls, HSBC economists said major breakthroughs on export controls were unlikely, but that the meeting may bring “incremental” steps aimed at troubleshooting trade friction. The idea that China may hold more leverage also appeared in assessments from other economists, including Capital Economics’ Leah Fahy, who wrote in a research note that “On balance, China looks to have more leverage,” while noting that higher tariffs had not prevented Chinese exports from surging over the past year and that Beijing appears prepared to wait out U.S. pressure.
Other factors tied to the Iran war and global conditions could also complicate the trade backdrop. Wei Li, head of multi-asset investments at BNP Paribas Securities (China), said oil and fuel price increases associated with the Iran war were feeding higher manufacturing and logistics costs, while higher global inflation could dampen consumer purchasing power in China’s overseas markets; he also pointed to China’s relatively resilient position compared with other countries, citing large oil reserves and more diversified energy sources. ING’s Song also said China’s trade surplus, which reached an all-time high of almost $1.2 trillion last year, could narrow in the course of 2026 as imports remain stronger, even as China continues recovering from a prolonged property slump that has weighed on consumption and investment.