China's May exports jump 19% on booming AI trade as shipments to the US surge
China's General Administration of Customs said exports rose 19% year-on-year in May, with booming demand for AI hardware offsetting supply-chain disruptions caused by the Iran war. Shipments to the United States accelerated sharply.
China's exports in May rose 19% in US dollar terms against the same month a year earlier, comfortably above market expectations. The data show that continued global investment in AI data centres is still supporting demand for servers, cooling equipment and power-infrastructure components. Shipments to the United States alone grew by 28%.
According to customs data, semiconductor exports were up 24% in dollar terms and optical components up 31%. Despite the disruption to Suez Canal traffic caused by the Iran-Israel conflict, Shanghai port logged record container departures over the month. The China Banking Association said exporters' profit margins remained stable even as the yuan appreciated.
Market reaction was mixed. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Tech index rose 1.4%, while shares of TSMC in Taiwan gained 0.8%. S&P 500 futures inched slightly higher. Economists said the strength of demand could shift the agenda of the next round of US-China trade talks. This is not investment advice.
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