Chinese exports saw an unexpectedly significant increase in February 2018, suggesting that the country's international trade sector remains in robust health despite tensions with the US.

February exports from China shot up by 44.5 per cent compared to a year earlier, significantly exceeding the 13.6 per cent median forecast given by analysts polled by Reuters. This was also significantly higher than January's 11.1 per cent gain.

Imports, meanwhile, grew by 6.3 per cent, which was below the 9.7 per cent forecast and down significantly from the unexpectedly large 36.9 per cent increase seen in January.

Combined data for the first two months of the year suggest a dramatic acceleration in export growth, which will offer confidence to the Chinese government that its recent crackdown on finance sector risks are not harming the overall economy.

However, concerns still persist that the US' aggressive trade policies and pledges to introduce new tariffs may have an impact on China in the near future.

Betty Wang, senior China economist at ANZ, said: "The broad-based recovery in China's major export markets could explain part of the reason why exports were still quite strong."