China’s trade surplus with US hits new record in August

China’s trade surplus with the United States ballooned to a new record $31 billion in August despite a raft of US tariffs, official data showed yesterday, adding fuel to the flames of a searing trade war.

The figures were released hours after President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on the totality of Chinese goods imported into the United States, worth half a trillion dollars.

The world’s two biggest economies have been locked in a months-long trade dispute, with negotiations going nowhere and fears that it could damage the global economy. Trump imposed customs duties of up to 25 percent on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods in July, and on another $16 billion in August, triggering swift tit-for-tat responses from Beijing.

But the tariffs do not appear to have dented the appetite for Chinese-made products in the United States. Chinese exports to the United States rose to $44.4 billion in August, a 13.2 percent increase from the same period last year, according to customs data.

Imports from the United States reached $13.3 billion, a two percent increase from the previous year.China’s trade surplus with the United States reached $31 billion in August, an 18.7 percent increase from the same month last year and up from its previous record, $28.9 billion, in June this year, according to customs data.