In October, China’s export growth rate was the fastest in 19 months, an increase of 11.4% over the same period last year. The surge in exports pushed the trade surplus in October to 58.44 billion U.S. dollars. China’s trade surplus with the United States widened to 31.37 billion US dollars from 30.75 billion US dollars in September.

Export growth accelerated further, greatly exceeding expectations. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, China’s exports have largely remained resilient because of the strong demand for medical supplies and the decline in production capacity in other regions.

However, some analysts said that with the increase in the second wave of coronavirus cases, major European economies including France, Germany and the United Kingdom are back in lockdown, and exports may face pressure in the coming months.

At the same time, imports are growing. Imports in October increased by 4.7% year-on-year, which was lower than the 13.2% increase in September, marking the second consecutive month of growth.

The strong trade performance may promote China’s broader economic recovery. After experiencing a severe downturn at the beginning of this year, China’s economic recovery is gaining momentum.

China’s economy grew by 4.9% in the third quarter over the same period last year, but this year’s growth may slow to slightly more than 2%, which is the weakest in the past three decades, but still stronger than other major economies.

This is the world’s second largest economy after being hit hard by the coronavirus crisis at the beginning of this year.