CHINA’S total imports and exports expanded 24.5 percent year on year to 21.34 trillion yuan (US$3.3 trillion) in the first seven months of the year, official data showed Saturday.

The volume marked a 22.3 percent increase compared with the level during the same period in 2019, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Both exports and imports logged double-digit growth in the January-July period, jumping 24.5 percent and 24.4 percent from a year earlier, respectively.

Trade surplus increased 24.8 percent year on year in the first seven months to 1.98 trillion yuan.

In July alone, exports rose 19.3 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 32.2 percent gain in June.

Imports rose 28.1 percent in July. Imports grew 36.7 percent in the previous month.

“The yearly growth of exports in July is slightly below expectations but remains resilient,” said Li Qilin, an analyst from Hongta Securities.

Aside from the drag from efforts to counter the spread of the Delta variant, Chinese exporters also struggled with an ongoing global semiconductor shortage, logistics bottlenecks, and higher raw material and freight costs.

The slower Chinese shipments also reflected the moderation in U.S. business in July amid supply constraints, suggesting a cooling in the world’s biggest economy after what was expected to have been a robust second quarter. (SD-Xinhua)