China's April imports jumped 21.5%and its exports grew 12.9% against the prior year-ago period.
Both of those figures, denominated in U.S. dollars, surpassed analysts expectations: An economist poll had predicted 16% import growth and 6.3% export growth.
Overall, China's April trade balance was a positive $28.78 billion, topping predictions of $24.7 billion.
Of note, the country's trade surplus with the U.S. expanded to $22.19 billion in April — compared with a surplus of $15.43 billion in March, customs data showed.
For January-April, China's trade surplus with the United States was $80.4 billion.
That news comes against the backdrop of intensive conversations between President Donald Trump's administration and Beijing about trade issues, including a demand from the American side to close the trade gap between the two countries.
The two countries have threatened each other with tens of billions of dollars' worth of tariffs in recent months, leading to worries that Washington and Beijing may engage in a full-scale trade war
