China's exports fall 1.1% in October, hit by a 25% drop in shipments to
the US
[November 07, 2025] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — China's exports contracted in October, hit by a 25%
drop in shipments to the United States, the government reported Friday.
Persisting trade tensions with Washington may get a respite in the final
quarter of the year after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi
Jinping agreed last week to de-escalate the trade war between the two
largest economies. But trade friction still appears to be casting a pall
on demand elsewhere.
Customs data show a 1.1% drop in China’s global exports in October
compared to a year earlier, the weakest since February, following an
8.3% increase in September.
Imports rose 1% last month from the year before, compared with 7.4%
growth in September.
China’s shipments to the U.S. have already fallen by double-digits for
seven consecutive months, while it has diversified its export markets to
regions such as Southeast Asia and Africa.
The October decline also was affected by a high base for the same month
in 2024, when exports growth soared more than 12.6%, the fastest rate in
over two years.
Imports rose 1% last month, compared with a 7.4% growth in September
year-on-year. Economists said a prolonged property sector downturn and
weak domestic consumption remains a concern.
At their meeting in South Korea in late October, Trump and Xi agreed to
lower tariffs and postpone new port fees they had imposed on each
other's vessels. China paused some of its export controls on rare earths
for one year and agreed to purchase more soybeans and other farm
products from the U.S.. The U.S. eased some sanctions on Chinese
companies.
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An exhibitor introduces the ginseng products to visitors at the
exhibition booth of American Food and Agriculture during the China
International Import Expo, in Shanghai, China, Thursday, Nov. 6,
2025. (AP Photo/Wayne Zhang)
 Goldman Sachs economists said
following the Trump-Xi meeting that they expect Chinese export
volumes to grow by 5%-6% annually, helping China to gain global
market share and driving its overall economic expansion.
“The reduction in some of these tariffs as part of the latest
U.S.-China trade ‘deal’ may provide a small boost to exports,” Leah
Fahy and Zichun Huang, China economists at Capital Economics, wrote
in a recent note. But that won’t show up until later in the last
quarter of this year, they said.
A “meaningful” U.S. export boost would probably start in the first
quarter of next year and then accelerate in the second quarter, said
Wei Li, head of Multi-Asset Investments at BNP Paribas Securities
(China).
This week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told business leaders at the
annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai that China would
“embrace free markets and free trade,” while he criticized trade
restrictions that hurt developing countries.
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