July's trade data is the first to come out since the imposition of American tariffs in early July. Our reporter Chen Tong has been talking to experts see what they have to say about July's trade numbers.  

One of the highlights of July's trade data is the obvious growth in imports, pushed up by the substantial needs of the infrastructure sector. Import values of commodities including copper and coal saw significant year-on-year growth last month. At the same time, exports also grew faster than market expectations. Experts believe companies are now rushing to export their products as soon as they can, concerned that Sino-US trade tensions may become even worse in the following months.

JIANG DONGYING, ANALYST CIB RESEARCH "The elevated trade tensions between China and the United States are pushing companies to export their goods. Companies are now exporting their Christmas orders, so the export data in the third quarter may rise first and then fall. We think the trade tensions may begin to have negative impacts in the third quarter. If you want to export, you have to have orders in hand. But the new order index in the PMI came in under the 50-point line in July. That means even if companies want to export, they don't have enough orders."

The trade value with the United States may fall in the fourth quarter, but some experts believe China's partnership with other countries will see faster growth then. In July, the total values of China's trade with ASEAN countries, Canada, Russia, Brazil and European countries all saw double-digit growth.

LIU XUEZHI, SENIOR ANALYST BANK OF COMMUNICATIONS "Some companies are actively seeking alternative destinations, such as emerging markets and European countries. The value of China's exports to them will climb quickly."

China's cooperation with countries involved in the Belt and Road initiative continues to play a major part in trade. The total import and export values with those countries recorded a year-on-year growth of 11 percent in Renminbi terms during the first seven months of the year, accounting for 27 percent of China's total trade value.