STORY: China's exports beat forecasts in November, driven by a surge in shipments to non-U.S. markets.
That's as manufacturers deepened trade ties with the rest of the world in light of Donald Trump's high tariffs.
The world's second-largest economy has ramped up efforts to diversify its export markets since Trump took office again.
It's been pursuing closer trade ties with Southeast Asia and the EU.
Beijing has used Chinese firms' global footprint to establish new production hubs for low-tariff access.
Customs data showed on Monday (December 8) that China's exports grew 5.9% year-on-year.
Imports were up 1.9%, almost doubling from October.
The data showed Chinese shipments to the U.S. dropped 29% in November year-on-year.
That was even though the month began with news that the U.S. and China had agreed to scale back some of their tariffs.
Exports to the European Union grew an annual 14.8% last month.
While shipments to Australia surged by over a third.
It helped boost China's trade surplus to over $111 billion in November, the highest since June.
