China’s April exports rose 14.1% year-on-year, beating expectations for a 6% gain, while imports climbed 3.8% versus forecasts of 1.0%, producing a trade surplus of $49.8 billion. Shipments to the EU increased 4.5% year-on-year, while exports to the US slipped 1.4%, illustrating varied demand across key markets.

A significant portion of the export surge stemmed from semiconductors and high-performance computing gear bound for data centers, reflecting the AI boom’s pull on China’s technology supply chains. Chip exports for machine learning applications and server hardware led the expansion, underscoring resilient global tech spending.

The broad-based improvement in China’s external sales points to an easing of global demand headwinds that may benefit solar equipment suppliers. JinkoSolar could see stronger order flows and improved pricing leverage for its photovoltaic panels as international trade conditions stabilize.