China Trade Gap With US Widens

A surprise jump in China’s April exports has caused its massive trade surplus with the US to grow further, putting additional strain on high-level trade talks next week aimed at avoiding a trade war over the issue, DW reported. China’s trade surplus with the United States surged 43% in April, compared with the previous month, to reach $22.9 billion, according to data released by the Chinese Customs Office on Tuesday. That led to a widening trade gap in the first four months of 2018, climbing to $80.4 billion from about $71 billion in the same period last year. The massive imbalance in bilateral trade between the world’s two biggest economies will likely reinforce US President Donald Trump’s determination to continue taking a tough stance toward Beijing. Trump has regularly said current trade practices are unfair and hurting American companies and jobs, and has threatened to impose import tariffs to the tune of $150 billion on Chinese goods.