Beijing’s $586 billion export boom isn’t real demand—it’s a last-minute inventory grab before August-1 tariffs, priming factories for a post-surge deflation crash.
A shady surge is unfolding at the gleaming container terminals of Shanghai’s Yangshan Port, the world’s busiest automated facility. China’s exports climbed 5.8% in June, surpassing economists’ projections and propelling the nation to a record $586bn trade surplus for the first half of 2025. Yet beneath this apparent triumph lies a more troubling reality: what appears to be economic strength is actually strategic stockpiling masquerading as genuine demand.
The Fershman Journal
