In April China’s trade with the rest of the world expanded to a record level, supported by both increased imports and exports of goods, services, and transmittals. Growth in imports outpaced exports for the sixth of the last seven months in April, rising 26.4% from one year ago to a record $102.0 billion, buoyed by a strong yuan, robust oil prices, and strong domestic demand. Over the first four months of the year, imports are up 28.0% from a year earlier, the strongest growth since 2004.

Exports in April similarly rose, gaining 21.8% to a record $118.7 billion. But year-to-date exports are only up 21.5%, the slowest growth since 2001, the year China first joined the WTO. With imports and exports in April seeing comparable growth, the trade balance was little changed from a year ago, slipping -0.1% to $16.7 billion.