RPT-UPDATE 2 – China's record trade surplus with the United States adds fuel to trade

(Repeats story published September 8th without any changes to the text)

* Increase in export growth in August, faster imports

* China Aug exports + 9.8% y / y, imports + 20% y / y

* Trade surplus in August to 27.91 billion dollars, against a surplus of 28.05 billion in July

* Trade surplus in August with the United States widens to 31.05 billion dollars

* Trump threatens tariffs on an additional $ 267 billion in Chinese imports

By Elias Glenn and Lusha Zhang

BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Reuters) – China's trade surplus with the United States hit a record high in August as export growth slowed slightly, which could push President Donald Trump to face Beijing.

The politically sensitive surplus reached $ 31.05 billion in August, up from $ 28.09 billion in July, customs statistics revealed Saturday, exceeding the record set in June.

In the first eight months of the year, China's surplus, with its largest export market, increased by nearly 15%, exacerbating tensions in trade relations between the world's two largest economies .

China's annual export growth in August eased slightly to 9.8%, according to data, the lowest since March, but slightly lower than recent trends.

The number of analysts estimating that shipments from the world's largest exporter would increase by 10.1%, slowing only slightly to 12.2% in July.

Even with US tariffs of $ 50 billion in Chinese exports in effect for the first full month of August, Chinese exports to the United States increased again, up 13.2 percent from 11.2 percent. in July.

"There is still an impact on the export front, but the main reason (for ever strong export growth) is the strong growth of the US economy," said Zhang Yi, an economist at Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management. .

China believes that the impact of US tariffs on Chinese exports will likely be limited in the coming months.

Chinese imports from the United States increased only 2.7% in August, down from 11.1% in July.

The largest trading nation in the world has had a good start to the year, but its economic outlook is clouded by the rapid rise of the US trade dispute and slowing domestic demand.

Trump raised the bar Friday, warning that he was ready to impose tariffs on almost all Chinese imports to the United States, threatening to pay $ 267 billion worth of goods in addition to the $ 200 billion worth of goods. 39, imports planned in the coming days.

Washington has long criticized China's huge trade surplus with the United States and asked Beijing to reduce it. However, the disagreements between the two major economic powers are not limited to the simple trade balance and tensions remain on the limits of American companies' access to Chinese markets, the protection of intellectual property, technology transfer and to investments.

Imports, a key indicator of the strength of Chinese domestic demand, rose 20 percent, exceeding expectations. Analysts forecast growth of 18.7%, down from 27.3% in July.

As a result, China posted an overall trade surplus of less than $ 27.91 billion for the month. Analysts were expecting the surplus to rise from $ 28.05 billion in July to $ 31.79 billion.

The surplus with the United States was larger than China's net surplus for the month, indicating that China would be in deficit if trade with the world's largest economy were excluded.

EXPORTS OF MAINTENANCE

While no one was predicting a sharp blow to US tariffs, official figures for Chinese exports have been surprisingly strong so far, with growth exceeding analysts' expectations for five consecutive months.

Chinese authorities have acknowledged that Chinese exporters have rushed to sell their products to defeat new US tariffs, supporting the growth results, while some companies, such as steel mills, are diversifying and selling more products to others. country.

Economists have noted that disruptions in supply chains are likely more business-specific and will take time to be reflected in overall economic data and corporate profit reports.

However, anecdotal evidence of increasing commercial damage on both sides of the Pacific is on the rise.

Official and private surveys of manufacturing in China show that global demand for Chinese products is clearly declining, with export orders declining for consecutive months.

"The risks have increased because of the negative impacts of China-U.S. commercial frictions. The impact on exports could gradually begin to manifest itself, with possible future growth in exports falling, "said Liu Xuezhi, an analyst at Bank of Communications.

In recent months, policymakers have focused on improving credit conditions and business confidence.

Beijing is increasing its spending on infrastructure projects to boost domestic demand, and the central bank is reducing borrowing costs and is pushing commercial banks to continue lending to struggling businesses affected by trade problems.

But it will take time to stop the economic downturn, and analysts expect the government to unveil new stimulus measures if economic conditions continue to deteriorate.