China’s exports rose 7.2 percent from a year earlier in July to US$322 billion, exceeding economists’ consensus for a 5.6 percent gain, while imports advanced 4.1 percent, the strongest increase in a year, customs data showed on Thursday. In yuan terms, exports grew 8.0 percent. The monthly trade surplus narrowed to US$98.24 billion from US$104.70 billion in June. Shipments to the United States fell 21.7 percent amid pending tariff negotiations, but demand from other markets more than offset the shortfall: exports to the 10-nation ASEAN bloc jumped 16.6 percent and those to the European Union climbed 9.2 percent. The figures come as Beijing and Washington face an Aug. 12 deadline to extend their current tariff truce. Commodity flows also strengthened. Crude oil purchases reached 47.2 million tonnes (about 11.1 million barrels a day), up 11.5 percent year-on-year, while iron-ore imports totaled 104.6 million tonnes and refined fuel exports increased 7.3 percent to 5.34 million tonnes. For the first seven months of 2025, China’s total goods trade grew 3.5 percent to 25.7 trillion yuan (US$3.6 trillion), underscoring the economy’s continued reliance on external demand as domestic activity stays subdued.