Tonghai Port Area in Nantong, China's Jiangsu province. Xu Congjun | Visual China Group | Getty Images

China on Thursday reported trade data that was better than expected despite mounting economic pressure from elevated U.S. tariffs. The Asian economic giant said its U.S. dollar-denominated exports in July rose 3.3% from a year ago while imports fell 5.6% during the same period. The country's overall trade surplus last month was $45.06 billion, according to customs data. China's trade surplus with the U.S. was $27.97 billion in July, lower than the previous month's $29.92 billion, the data showed. From January to July, China's trade surplus with the U.S. has totaled $168.5 billion. Lu Yu, a portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors, said a weaker Chinese yuan versus the U.S. dollar and other currencies has helped Chinese manufacturers to sell their goods overseas. That's despite the U.S. imposing 25% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods in May after trade negotiations stalled. The depreciating yuan "is helping the exporters in China to export not just to the U.S. because it dampens the impact of the tariff hike, but also help them to export to other countries," she told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Thursday.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected Chinese exports lasts month to fall by 2% from a year ago, and imports to decline by 8.3% compared to the same period last year. The country's overall trade surplus in July was forecast to be $40 billion, according to the Reuters poll. In June, exports from China fell 1.3% year-on-year while imports fell 7.3% over the same period, customs data showed. Trade surplus that month was $50.98 billion, according to the data.

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