China is seeing a historic boom in exports due to AI.
China’s exports rose +25% YoY in August, their 3rd-largest monthly reading in at least 2 years.
At the same time, imports surged +28%, pushing the monthly trade surplus to +$119 billion and the year-to-date surplus to +$806 billion.
This puts China’s trade surplus on track for another annual record, following the $1.2 trillion seen in 2025.
This all comes as high-tech exports contributed more than half of China’s export growth last month.
Integrated-circuit shipments soared +130% YoY in August, while high-tech product exports jumped +57%.
The AI boom is increasingly powering China’s export engine.