FILE PHOTO: Employees work at a production line inside a factory exporting cameras used in mobile phones, in Shenyang, Liaoning province, October 18, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will push to attract more high-tech manufacturers to set up in the world’s No.2 economy, the nation’s commerce ministry said late on Friday, without giving further details.

The comment came as the nation’s exports unexpectedly returned to growth in July on improved global demand despite escalating U.S. trade pressure.

The Ministry of Commerce also said in its statement that it expected export volumes to “expand rapidly” in the second-half of 2019.

China on Tuesday said it would implement a special tax policy in the newly expanded Shanghai Free Trade Zone, granting crude oil import licenses to qualified companies and providing preferential tax policies for firms operating in artificial intelligence, civil aviation, semiconductor and biopharmaceutical sectors.