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China's August Trade Surplus Widens as AI Boom Drives Chip Export Surge

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China's August Trade Surplus Widens as AI Boom Drives Chip Export Surge

China's trade surplus expanded for the fifth straight month in August as soaring global appetite for artificial intelligence hardware continued to propel outbound shipments.

The trade surplus widened to $119.09 billion in August from $112.50 billion in July, according to data from the General Administration of Customs released Tuesday.

The latest print beat the consensus forecast of $118.60 billion tracked by Investing.com.

Total exports rose 25% year over year to $401.4 billion, in line with the consensus forecast for a 25% increase and higher than the 23.9% growth in July.

Integrated circuit exports reached $40.73 billion in August, while the figure for the eight months through August jumped 103.9% to $256.75 billion.

On the domestic front, inbound trade also quickened but trailed broader market expectations. Imports increased 28.2% to $282.36 billion, sharper than the 27.5% expansion in July but lower than the consensus forecast of a 30% jump.

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