Vietnam's trade surplus with the U.S. soared by nearly half in the first three months of the year as the Trump administration's trade war with China paved the way for more imports from other Asian economies, data available on the U.S. Census Bureau showed.

The Southeast Asian country logged a surplus of $13.5 billion with the U.S. in the first quarter, a 45.5% increase from a year ago, as its exports of goods targeted by Washington's tariffs against China rose, the Financial Times reported, citing data from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

This includes sharp increases in Vietnam's exports of modems, washing machines, plastic blinds and computers, among others. As a result, U.S. imports from Vietnam rose 34% year over year for goods under the categories taxed by the U.S., the FT noted.

During the three months to March, Vietnam recorded the fifth-largest surplus with the U.S., while China has the largest surplus with the U.S.

Other Asian countries also logged higher trade surpluses with the U.S. during the period, official data showed.

South Korea saw its surplus rise 71% year over year, Taiwan by 29%, Bangladesh by 23%, Cambodia by 24% and Pakistan by 403%.

Meanwhile, China's trade surplus with the U.S. declined 12.2% year over year to about $80 billion amid an ongoing trade rift with the U.S.

The Trump regime has so far imposed three tranches of tariffs on imports of Chinese goods since July 2018 and it threatens to impose more levies.