China’s imports of critical equipment for developing artificial intelligence have surged this year, official data has shown, driving a return to trade growth for the world’s second-biggest economy as the global race for AI supremacy intensifies.The value of China’s imports of automatic data processing equipment — which includes computers and their components — surged 50 per cent year on year in the first four months of 2024, according to official statistics released on Thursday. Imports of computer chips and other high-tech products recorded double-digit gains from the same period last year.

The boom in AI equipment purchases helped Chinese trade return to growth in dollar terms in April following declines in the previous month. It comes as the country contends with rising geopolitical tensions over trade and industrial policy.

The value of imports expanded 8.4 per cent in dollar terms in April compared with a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations of just below 5 per cent and reversing a decline of 1.9 per cent in March.