China-U.S. bilateral trade sees 4.4% rise in Jan-Aug despite tensions

In the first eight months this year, trade of goods between China and the U.S. totaled 3.15 trillion yuan ($432 billion), up by 4.4 percent year-on-year, making the U.S. China's third-largest trading partner, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Tuesday.

The growth rate represents a slight uptick from the first seven months this year when bilateral trade reached 2.72 trillion yuan, up 4.1 percent year-on-year. 

Experts attributed the rise in China-U.S. trade last month to the U.S. consumers' strong appetite for Chinese goods. Recent intensive dialogues between the two nations across various fields also helped bilateral trade. 

The U.S. maintained its position as China's third-largest trade partner in the first eight months, following ASEAN and the EU. China's trade with ASEAN rose 10 percent year-on-year during the Jan-Aug period, while its trade with the EU was up by 1.1 percent.

Specifically, China's exports to the U.S. reached 2.38 trillion yuan, up 5 percent year-on-year, while imports from the U.S. totaled 778.93 billion yuan, marking a 2.3 percent rise. Compared to the January-July period, China's imports from the U.S. ticked up from 1.2 percent to 2.3 percent.

In terms of shares in China's foreign trade, the U.S. maintained an 11 percent share in the first eight months. The EU's share remained at 13 percent during the same period.

"The continued growth momentum in trade indicates the solid foundation in China-U.S. economic and trade relations, amid recent increased bilateral engagement to manage risks and enhance understanding," Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, which is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China and the U.S. held the second vice-ministerial meeting of the China-U.S. commercial and trade working group on Saturday, with both sides agreeing to support trade and investment promotion activities hosted by each country and maintaining dialogues.