BEIJING — China’s January exports rebounded from a contraction late last year amid trade tensions with Washington, but imports declined. Exports rose 9.1 per cent from a year earlier to $217.6 billion, an improvement from December’s 3.5 per cent decline, customs data showed Thursday. Chinese exports to the United States have been squeezed by President Donald Trump’s tariff hike in a dispute over Beijing’s technology ambitions. Chinese exports to the United States held up through much of 2018 despite Trump’s tariff hikes as exporters rushed to fill orders, then fell in December. Trump is pressing Beijing to roll back plans for state-led creation of Chinese global competitors in robotics and other tech fields.

Source: National Post February 14, 2019 05:38 UTC