“China’s trade resisted pressure and progressed in the first half of the year,” Wang Lingjun, deputy head of the customs agency, said at a press briefing. “But we need to note that unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise globally, and the external environment is becoming more complex, grim and uncertain.”

Diversions of exports away from the US help explain the resilience of Chinese factories, supporting a slowing domestic economy during one of the most turbulent periods in international trade. The question now is how long the recent strength will last, as the Trump administration looks to curb the transshipment of goods to America through other countries.

The US last week announced a raft of new levies on trading partners, declaring those tariffs will take effect on Aug. 1. It also unveiled a 50% tariff on copper imports and signaled more sectoral levies are in the works.

“The pick-up in headline export growth mainly reflected the rebound of US-bound exports in June, likely due to the substantial tariff reduction following the US-China trade talks in Geneva in May,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists including Andrew Tilton said in a report. “Both export and import growth surprised to the upside.”

While US tariffs on Chinese goods have been cut back to around 55%, down from as high as 145% in early April, Beijing faces mounting risks from Washington’s evolving trade strategy.

A new agreement with Vietnam, for instance, includes a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports to the US and a steeper 40% duty on goods deemed to be transshipped, targeting a workaround Chinese exporters have long used to evade American tariffs. The move could curb demand for Chinese products headed directly to the US as well as for components used in supply chains across other countries.