Hong Kong's trade activity saw a solid start to the year, but the government warned of challenges ahead due to a looming trade war.

The city's exports jumped 15.4% to HK$327.9 billion in February from a year ago, a sharp increase from a 0.1% rise in January, data released by the city's statistics department showed.

Taking the first two months of 2025 together to adjust for the earlier Chinese New Year this year, the combined value of exports in January and February grew 6.5% from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's February imports climbed 11.8% to HK$364.2 billion after January's 0.5% gain. For January and February combined, imports expanded by 5.7%.

A government spokesperson said that while the city's exports to mainland China and numerous Asian markets exhibited strong growth, shipments to the European Union declined.

Looking ahead, the government spokesperson said: "The tariff measures introduced so far by the United States and the uncertainties surrounding protectionist policies would continue to pose challenges to Hong Kong's merchandise trade performance."