China's economy grew by 5.4% from January to March, the government said on Wednesday. This was helped by strong exports before the US raised taxes on Chinese products.

Experts think China's economy will grow more slowly because of the trade war.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting other Asian countries this week. He wants to talk about free trade. He will say that China can help and be a stable country in difficult times.

Xi visited Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. At the same time, the U.S. said that a high-level official, Sean O'Neill, would go to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam this week. He would also go to Siem Reap in Cambodia and to Tokyo.

China is also showing that it wants to trade with countries other than the US. It is doing this at trade fairs that show its big market and how good it is at making things.

China's economy grew by 5% last year, partly because it sold many things to other countries. The plan for this year is also around 5%.

A government spokesperson said that the new taxes might make China's economy a little difficult now, but they will not stop it from growing in the future.

Sheng said that China's economy is strong and can deal with problems. He also said they are sure they can reach their goals.

From January to March, the economy grew by 1.2%. This is slower than the 1.6% growth from October to December of 2024.

China sold many goods to other countries in March and the first three months of the year. Businesses did this quickly because they thought President Trump would add extra taxes. This has helped factories make many things.

Stephen Innes said this happened early because people bought things fast before the U.S. raised taxes. Also, businesses in the U.S. bought many goods to be ready.

Making things in factories increased by 6.5% compared to last year. This happened mostly because making machines and equipment went up by almost 11%.

The biggest growth was in new technologies, like making electric and hybrid cars. This grew a lot, by 45.4% compared to the year before. Making 3D printers also grew a lot, by almost 45%, and making factory robots grew by 26%.

The Chinese economy is growing, but it has been slow since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because the housing market is not doing well, and more people do not have jobs. So, families are careful with their money.

Prices for things people buy went down a little (0.1%) in the first three months of the year. This might mean that people are not buying as much as companies are making. Also, people were not buying many houses or buildings. This type of buying went down by almost 10% compared to the year before, even though the government tried to help people borrow more money to buy homes.

A possible problem with taxes is coming. This is bad news for China because they want companies to invest and hire more people. China also wants people to buy more things.

Economists from companies and the government are still not sure what will happen because Trump keeps changing his ideas about his trade war.

Because of what happened in the last two weeks, it is very hard to know how the taxes the U.S. and China put on each other might change, said Tao Wang and other UBS economists in a report.

The International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank still think the economy will grow by about 4.6% this year.

When Trump became president, he first added a 10% tax on goods from China. Then, he made the tax 20%. Now, China has to pay a 145% tax on most goods it sends to the United States.

UBS thinks that if the taxes stay the same, China might sell much less to the US soon. They also think China's total sales to other countries might go down by 10% in money. UBS now thinks China's economy will grow less this year, at 3.4%. They think growth will be slower in 2026, at 3%.

China has tried harder to make people spend more money and companies invest more in the last seven months. They gave more money to people who traded in old cars and appliances for new ones. They also gave more money to help people buy houses and support other businesses that needed money.