China’s tech finds new lifelines beyond U.S. borders

China’s technology exports to the United States have plunged, yet solid orders from other regions are still keeping China’s trade engine humming.

A Goldman Sachs analysis published Sunday found Chinese tech shipments to the U.S. in August were down 70% versus the fourth quarter of 2024. The drop came after President Donald Trump rolled out new tariffs, including a 20% “fentanyl tariff” applied to all Chinese imports starting in March.

From the fourth quarter through August, tech exports to the U.S. from South Korea, Vietnam, India, and others jumped 80%, Goldman said.

As quoted by Business Insider, Goldman’s analysts wrote, “Tech exports to non-US destinations showed little difference between China and the rest of Asia, with tech exports from both performing similarly well compared to other sectors.”

They added that in July, China and the rest of Asia lifted technology exports to non-U.S. markets by about 20% relative to the fourth quarter of 2024, “reflecting strength in global tech demand.”

Asia sees export surge driven by AI technology boom

The trade fight out of Washington is remaking supply lines and pushing a high-tech split from China. Back in 2017, almost half of America’s key tech imports came straight from China. By 2025, Goldman estimated, that share has fallen below 20%. As production shifts, Taiwan, Mexico, Japan, India, and Vietnam have taken more market share.

Asia is riding an AI-driven export boom. Regional exports rose 7% in dollar terms through August from a year earlier, Goldman said, with technology accounting for more than 60% of the gains. Taiwan stands out: over 70% of its exports now come from technology, and in August, its exports were 30% higher than the fourth quarter of 2024, powered by advanced chips and servers for AI data centers.

Goldman expects the reshuffling to persist. “Tech supply chains will likely continue to shift, further driving high-tech decoupling between the US and China and reconfiguring of Asia’s trade within and outside the region,” the analysts wrote.

China-led trade bloc to convene in Malaysia

Malaysia said Monday it will host a leaders’ meeting of the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in October alongside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur.

The RCEP, which includes all 10 ASEAN members plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, has not met at the leaders’ level since November 2020, when members signed a deal to lower tariffs, boost investment, and allow freer movement of goods.

The October meeting, seen by some analysts as a potential buffer to U.S. tariffs from the Trump administration, is likely to coincide with a visit by Trump for the ASEAN summit.

Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the gathering will let members suggest improvements to the pact and consider requests from countries seeking to join. “We want to focus on issues that will help RCEP members,” Tengku Zafrul told Reuters ahead of an ASEAN economic ministers meeting this week.

Asked about China’s role, Tengku Zafrul said he is not worried about the agenda being “hijacked” by China. “To be fair to Malaysia and ASEAN member states, and even other RCEP members, they have said the same thing. I mean, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and all have stated their views on multilateralism,” he said. “So whether China will hijack the agenda, I don’t think so, because there’s nothing new in our belief about that principle.”

As reported by Cyrptopolitan before, tariffs continue to pose a risk since the U.S. is also cracking down on indirect Chinese exports. Trump’s tariff push has set duties ranging from 10% to 40% on shipments from Asian nations, with many large ASEAN economies seeing a standard 19% rate. Those U.S. measures are slated to be a central item at this week’s ASEAN ministers’ meeting, which U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will attend.

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