(Yicai) July 22 -- Shanghai had record second-quarter international trade in spite of US tariff pressures, led by surging high‑tech exports.

The city’s foreign trade climbed 7.2 percent to CNY1.14 trillion (USD159 billion) in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier, the strongest growth in eight consecutive quarters, according to local customs data. Trade had fallen 2.7 percent in the first quarter.

In the first six months of the year, the city’s international trade rose 2.4 percent to CNY2.15 trillion (USD300 billion). Exports jumped 11 percent to CNY952.7 billion, while imports fell 3.6 percent to CNY1.2 trillion.

Technology and innovation powered the upturn. Shanghai’s high‑tech exports reached CNY239.6 billion in the first half, 25 percent of the city’s total.

Exports of surgical robots increased nearly five times, along with a rise of 42 percent for liquefied natural gas carriers. The city’s outbound shipments of biomedicines, medical devices, and electric vehicles all accounted for more than 10 percent of the national total.

China’s first-half trade rose 2.9 percent to CNY21.8 trillion (USD3 trillion), the General Administration of Customs announced on July 14. Exports gained 7.2 percent to CNY13 trillion, while imports fell 2.7 percent to CNY8.8 trillion.

The figures added to a healthy economic picture for China overall, with gross domestic product rising 5.3 percent. Following the release of that and other first-half economic data, major foreign financial institutions such as UBS, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura raised their annual GDP growth forecasts for China.

Editor: Tom Litting