China’s international trade activity continued to surge in September with a 17% increase in both exports and imports on a year earlier. That marked the fastest growth since June 2017 and came despite a slump in business sentiment towards trade to its lowest since February 2016. Increased shipments to the U.S. ahead of the imposition of duties on $200 billion of exports was a significant factor with exports having risen 14% to a record high. By contrast Chinese imports from the U.S. fell 1% – retaliation is proving effective. That may be a risk going forward though as the resulti...