SHANGHAI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - China stocks were unchanged on Wednesday, with gains in chipmakers countering losses in consumer staples, after data showed the country's exports growth weakened in August.

Hong Kong' main benchmark, meanwhile, dropped for a fifth straight session to the lowest level since mid- March, amid tightening overseas monetary policies and regulatory overhangs.

** The blue-chip CSI 300 index and the Shanghai Composite index both ended flat by the end of the morning session.

** The Hang Seng Index fell 1.7%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 1.4%.

** Other Asian stocks fell, as investors took no cheer from strong U.S. economic data and as weaker-than-expected Chinese trade numbers pressed the yuan lower.

** Exports rose 7.1% in August from a year earlier, as surging inflation crippled overseas demand and fresh COVID-19 curbs and heatwaves disrupted production, reviving downside risks for the economy.

** Semiconductor companies jumped 2.4% as President Xi Jinping said China will strengthen its state-led system to achieve breakthroughs of core technologies, amid tensions with the United States.

** New energy shares also rose 1.7%, while real estate developers and consumer staples lost more than 1% each.

** "Due to a slow recovery in economic activity and corporate earnings in the short term, there is abundant liquidity in the macroeconomy; however, the A-share market lacks new capital inflow and the stock market may continue consolidating for a period," said Lei Meng, China Equities Strategist at UBS Securities.

** "The picture is not pretty, as China continues to battle the broadest wave of COVID-19 infections thus far," said Nomura analysts in a note, adding they are cutting Q3 growth forecast to 2.6% y-o-y and lowering 2022 annual GDP growth forecast to 2.7% from 2.8%.

** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong tumbled 2.3%, with index heavyweights Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan down more than 2% each.

** Overnight, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cautioned that U.S. accounting firms risked breaching U.S. rules if they agreed to lead audits of New York-listed Chinese and Hong Kong companies looking to avoid potential trading bans.

** HSBC Holdings lost 2.9% to nearly 4-month low, and the Hang Seng Finance Index declined 2%. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Uttaresh.V)