BEIJING, June 10 -- The trade war was supposed to wall China off from its biggest customer. Instead, China just sold more to the United States than at any point in five years. The country's exports surged 19.4 percent in May from a year earlier, a record monthly haul of roughly 377 billion dollars, customs data released on Tuesday showed, accelerating sharply from April's already brisk pace. Shipments to the United States, the market Washington has spent years trying to wean off Chinese goods, jumped 35.4 percent, their fastest growth since early 2021.

The figures describe an export machine that is not merely surviving the American tariff campaign but pulling away from it. Imports rose 27.4 percent, beating forecasts and easing fears abo...