China's Ports Just Had Their Busiest Week Ever — Thanks To US Trade Deal

Chinese ports logged the busiest week on record, likely aided by a rush of businesses to ship their goods out of the country after China and the U.S. agreed to lower tariffs.

According to data from China’s Ministry of Transport, Chinese ports saw outbound shipments of 6.7 million standard containers, a record, according to Bloomberg News. Exports rose 6% from the previous week after Beijing and Washington, D.C., agreed to lower trade barriers.

Earlier this month, officials from the U.S. and China agreed to implement the Geneva deal signed between the two countries in May. The two countries sought to resolve their differences over export controls on rare earth resources and semiconductor chips.

In May, U.S. seaborne imports from China plunged 28.5% year-over-year, marking the steepest decline since the pandemic. The trade disruption contributed to China's export growth slowing to 4.8% in May.

The shipping data released on Tuesday likely indicates that exporters are rushing to ship their products to customers in the U.S. before any fresh changes to tariff rates take effect. Chinese businesses also want to send more of their product to other Southeast Asian countries and move them to the U.S. before a 90-day pause ends next month.

According to the report, the number of international flights also remained elevated, despite the U.S. ending the tariff exemption for small parcels from China, which had been one of the main drivers of international cargo.

On Tuesday, the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) rose 1.5% in premarket trading. It has risen over 20% this year compared to a 1.8% gain of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

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