China's global trade soared to record high levels last month, according to a report from CNN. The country's exports jumped 25.6% in August from one year ago to $294.3 billion, and imports spiked 33.1% to $236 billion, both the highest numbers on record.
These economic strides are in despite of new coronavirus outbreaks and supply bottlenecks. "While near-term headwinds remain, supply constraints in China have eased and we think the global economic recovery will continue to underpin China's exports in the end of this year and in 2022," Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics, wrote in a report on Tuesday.
The United States was China's top export market, purchasing $51.7 billion worth of goods in total in last month, according to CNN. "The bottom line is that China's trade data continues to act to mitigate against the impact of slowing domestic growth," Mitul Kotecha, chief emerging Asia and Europe strategist for TD Securities told the news outlet.
However, similar to other countries, the manufacturing and service industry are still behind in recovery. Manufacturing activity last month indicated the lowest rate of growth since the start of the pandemic, according to a recent survey CNN reported.
Last month, Chinese authorities also had to partially shutdown a major container port due to a worker testing positive for COVID-19. But even with these obstacles, trade in China has reached record highs.