China registered a record monthly trade surplus of $47.3 billion in July.

Exports increased 14.5% year-on-year to $212.9 billion, according to China’s General Administration of Customs, while imports decreased 1.6% to $165.6 billion.

The surplus, which compares with one of $17.8 billion in July 2013, surpasses China’s previous record of $40.1 billion in November 2008.

Exports to the USA grew 12.3% year-on-year in July, while those to Germany rose by 17.1%, in line with a 17% increase to the European Union as a whole.

Since April, Chinese authorities have cut ‘red tape’ and introduced measures such as tax breaks for SMEs and incentives for banks to encourage increased lending to small companies.