Exports from China to the US dropped by a third year-on-year in August as the impact of new tariffs continued to be felt - though this was offset by gains in shipments to other regions as traders sought out new markets for their goods.
Official figures show there was a 33 percent drop in exports to the US last month, which contributed to the slowest increase in growth for six months. Overall trade exports missed forecasts to rise by 4.4 percent year-on-year, compared with an increase of 7.2 percent in July.
The fall in trade to the US was the main driver of this, but the impact was mitigated by significant increases in exports to China's regional partners. The figures showed a 22.5 percent rise in exports to ASEAN nations in August, indicating that businesses in China are looking to reroute goods elsewhere in order to avoid the impact of tariffs on direct shipments to the US, a tactic known as transshipment.
Elsewhere, exports to the EU also rose by ten percent year-on-year, despite a series of trade disputes with Brussels.
Zichun Huang, chief China economist at Capital Economics, commented that while the slower headline rate of growth reflects a high base rate from last year, it does indicate new challenges ahead.
"With the temporary boost from the US-China trade truce fading and the US raising tariffs on shipments rerouted via other countries, exports are likely to come under pressure in the near term," she added.
In July, the US announced a tariff of 40 percent on any goods it deems to have been transshipped, which came into effect last month.