China's exports surge in June driven by AI-related hardware demand

Official data released on Tuesday show that China's exports grew by 27% year-on-year in June, significantly exceeding economists' forecasts of 19%. Imports also outperformed expectations, rising by 36% compared to the projected 26.1%. The growth was largely fueled by global demand for semiconductors and data processing equipment related to artificial intelligence. China’s trade surplus reached $126 billion in June, up from $105 billion in May, raising concerns in Europe and other regions regarding trade imbalances. Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics noted that while trade value increased substantially, this growth is largely attributed to higher semiconductor prices rather than just export volume. The value of semiconductor exports more than doubled compared to June of the previous year.