(IDEX Online) - Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) is reporting a "surge in trading", with transactions worth $3.82bn from January to June of this year.That's an increase of 86 per cent on the same period in pre-Covid 2019. The pandemic saw China's diamond imports down by almost a half in 2020 and 2021.Lin Qiang, president of SDE, said: "The strong rebound of diamond import not only benefits from the quick recovery of China's economy specifically the release of consumption power restrained by pandemic and appreciation of the RMB (yuan) which offset the increase of diamond price in USD, but also results from the strategic move of anti-smuggle and anti-money laundering initiated by the Chinese government."Net polished imports in the first half of this year were $1.58bn, more than for the whole of 2020, and up 49.24 per cent on1H 2019. Pic shows Shanghai Diamond Exchange