China saw 'surprise' jump in U.S. orders ahead of Trump-Xi summit, private survey shows

American businesses ramped up orders for Chinese goods in the weeks leading up to the high-stakes summit this week, as companies positioned for continued stability between the world's two largest economies.

The jump in orders was a "surprise," with shipments to the U.S. rising on both a yearly and monthly basis "as China's relative tariff position improved," according to China Beige Book, a New York-based research firm that surveyed 1,295 Chinese companies between Sept. 1-22.

The gauge measuring orders from the U.S. — calculated as the proportion of surveyed firms reporting an increase minus the share reporting a decrease — jumped to 13 in September, from negative-12 a year earlier and 3 in August, according to the report.

Even so, overall Chinese domestic and export orders remained below their levels a year earlier, and new orders weakened from August, the report showed.

The upswing in U.S.-bound orders came as businesses positioned for a friendlier outcome at the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping , who is in Washington this week for his first state visit in more than a decade.

The two countries agreed to extend by two months to January a trade truce that keeps tariffs lower, suspends restrictive controls on rare earth exports and holds off higher port fees on ships.

The U.S. also reportedly planned to delay a threatened round of tariffs tied to industrial overcapacity until at least after this week's summit, easing near-term pressure on Chinese exporters.

The effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods of around 23% remains well above the average levy the U.S. imposes on other major trading partners, according to Barclays.