BEIJING—China’s customs agency unexpectedly issued trade data that showed growth in exports to the U.S. slowing, though analysts dismissed the figures as part of Beijing’s messaging campaign in its tariff battle with Washington.
The figures released late Monday, which only covered exports to the U.S., came ahead of the scheduled July 13 release of trade data and were denominated in yuan, without accompanying dollar terms. In yuan terms, the data showed growth in Chinese exports to the U.S. ticking down to 5.4% in the January-June...