China defied expectations this morning by revealing it had returned to exports growth despite trade war fears. Exports in July were up 3.3pc from a year earlier, the quickest rise since March. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a 1pc fall, following a 1.3pc drop in June. Imports fell by 5.6pc, but even that was better than expectations of a 9pc fall, slightly paring up a June fall of 7.3pc. Iris Pang, an ING economist covering Great China, has taken a closer look at the figures, which she thinks show some unusual patterns.