China Imports Rise for First Time This Year

China’s imports rose 1.1% yoy to USD 210.4 billion in June 2025, rebounding from a 3.4% fall in May and marking the first monthly increase this year.

The upturn reflects the impact of Beijing’s support measures aimed at boosting domestic demand, coupled with temporary tariff relief.

However, the latest result was slightly below market estimates for a 1.3% gain.

Beijing and Washington have begun repairing trade ties after two days of talks in London during early June, where officials mapped out a framework to act on prior agreements.

China pledged to restart rare earth shipments, while the U.S.

signaled readiness to relax export curbs on ethane, chip-design software, and jet engine components.

With the August 12 deadline nearing, both sides are racing to finalize a long-term accord.

For the first six months of the year, China’s imports fell 3.9% to USD 1.22 trillion, dragged by drops from the U.S.

(-7.7%), EU (-4.8%), and Russia (-8.6%), while shipments from ASEAN countries rose 2.3%.