China's exports likely picked up pace in March, as factories rushed out shipments ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs this month, though the broadening trade war with the United States has darkened the economic outlook.

As the world reels from Donald Trump's on-again off-again "Liberation Day" tariffs, nations are lining up to make deals – but also scrambling to shield their economies from the fallout. The EU has proposed a "zero-for-zero" tariff agreement on industrial goods.