Growth in Chinese exports to the United States ticked up in October as traders rushed to beat another round of tariff hikes.

Exports to the US market rose 13.3 per cent over a year earlier to USD 42.7 billion, up from September's 13 per cent growth, customs data showed Thursday. Imports of American goods rose 8.5 per cent to USD 10.9 billion, decelerating from the previous month's 9 per cent.

China's trade surplus with the United States narrowed to USD 31.8 billion from September's record USD 34.1 billion.

Traders are rushing to beat a US tariff hike planned for January, ING economists Iris Pang said in a report.

Pang said "front-loading behaviour" is likely to continue because this month's planned meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Argentine is unlikely to yield positive results.

China's exports to the United States have been unexpectedly resilient since Trump started imposing punitive tariffs goods in July in a fight over Beijing's technology policy.

That includes a 10 per cent charge on USD 200 billion of Chinese goods that is due to rise to 25 per cent in January.