India, May 9 -- China's exports grew more than expected in April despite the sharp contraction in shipments to the United States following the trade tariff hikes, while imports decreased at a meager pace, official data revealed on Friday.
Exports advanced 8.1 percent on a yearly basis in April, customs data showed. While the growth rate slowed from 12.4 percent in March, this was far better than the expected expansion of 1.9 percent.
At the same time, imports fell only 0.2 percent from a year ago, compared with the economists' forecast of a 5.9 percent decline. Moreover, the pace of decrease slowed from 4.3 percent drop recorded in March.
As a result, the trade surplus decreased to $96.18 billion from $102.64 billion in the previous mont...