(Yicai) May 12 -- China's exports in US dollar terms rose 8.1 percent last month from a year earlier, exceeding market expectations despite declining from a 12.4 percent growth the month before, highlighting the country's foreign trade strength.

Exports of goods from China topped USD315.7 billion in April, according to the data released by the General Administration of Customs on May 9, the first such figures after the United States imposed its so-called reciprocal tariffs. Imports fell 0.2 percent to USD219.5 billion, while the trade surplus was USD96.2 billion, falling short of analysts' expectations.

China's exports to the US tumbled 21 percent to USD33 billion, compared with an 8.9 percent year-on-year growth in March. Those to non-US regions rose 13 percent, with exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surging 21 percent.

Exports grew slower last month than in March mainly because of the sharp drop in exports to the US due to the tariff war, said Feng Lin, executive director of Dongfang Jincheng's macroeconomic research and development department. The high base from a year earlier also had a certain effect, she noted.

However, China's exports kept relatively high growth in April mainly because of a "rush to export" to other markets except for the US, the external demand still having a certain resilience, and the ultra-high tariffs between it and the US mainly being implemented in the middle and late ten-day period, with exemptions for some goods, so their impact has not been fully manifested, according to Feng.

The figures for last month reflect the direct impact of the US' additional tariffs, with the share of China's exports to the US shrinking to 10.5 percent from 12.8 percent in March, said Yang Chang, chief analyst of Zhongtai Securities' Research Institute. However, non-US exports climbed 13 percent, up from 12.9 percent growth a month earlier, Yang added.

Many Chinese exporters with strong overseas operation advantages and branding capabilities have seen orders from the Middle East, Russia, and other markets surge this year, they told Yicai.

Zhonghui Green Building Mobile Housing Technology, a high-tech production-oriented firm, had planned to increase its efforts to explore the North American market but quickly turned its focus to emerging markets after feeling the local downward trend, Chairman Ye Yikai told Yicai.

Zhonghui Green received a big order from Russia last month, completing the first-phase delivery in 12 days, with the share of the company's exports to Russia soaring to 45 percent, Ye noted. In addition, the two sides jointly set up a cross-border service platform to provide full-cycle technical services, he added.

Orders have also surged from other places, including the Middle East and Poland, Ye pointed out.

The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, which ran from April 15 through May 5 in Guangzhou, saw a record-high number of exhibitors and overseas buyers, highlighting the strong resilience and vitality of China's foreign trade, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

High-level China-US economic and trade talks were held in Geneva on May 10, Xinhua News Agency reported. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the same day.

China's foreign trade in Chinese yuan terms rose 5.6 percent to CNY3.84 trillion (USD530.6 billion) last month from a year earlier. Exports jumped 9.3 percent to CNY2.27 trillion, while imports climbed 0.8 percent to CNY1.57 trillion. The trade surplus reached CNY690 billion (USD95.3 billion).

Editor: Martin Kadiev