HONG KONG — Surprisingly strong exports reported by China on Friday bolstered the view that the global economy is improving, just as Chinese leaders were set to hold an important policy meeting to flesh out their economic agenda for the coming years. Exports rose 5.6 percent in October from a year earlier, reversing a 0.3 percent slide in September and beating expectations for a much more modest rise, according to data from the Chinese customs administration. Imports confirmed that domestic demand was solid, rising 7.6 percent from a year earlier, a little more rapidly than the 7.4 percent recorded in September. After a rocky patch earlier this year, China’s economy has stabilized in recent months, echoing improvements in the United States, Japan and the long-beleaguered euro zone. Friday’s data confirmed that the steady — though not stellar — expansion in the Chinese economy in recent months has continued into […]