China’s exports, imports declined at slower pace in August
China’s exports, imports declined at slower pace in August

China’s exports, imports declined at slower pace in August

China’s exports, in US dollar terms, fell by 8.8% in August from a year earlier, according to data releases by the General Administration of Customs, compared to previous 14.5% drop, and better than the 9.2% drop forecast by a Reuters poll.

The country’s imports fell 7.3%, compared to previous 12.4% drop and better than the 9% decline forecast in a Reuters poll, according to the data. Trade surplus narrowed to $68.36 billion from previous $80.6 billion.

China’s exports, in yuan terms, fell by 3.2% in August from a year earlier, compared to previous 9.2% drop, and imports fell 1.6%, compared to previous 6.9% drop, showed the customs data.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is China’s largest trading partner. China’s exports to the ASEAN fell by 13.3%, while imports dropped by 6.1% in August from a year ago, the data showed.

China’s exports to the US in dollar terms declined by 9.5% in August from a year earlier, better than a drop of more than 20% in each of the prior two months, while China’s imports from the US fell by 7.9% in August from a year ago, an improvement from a double-digit decline in July, according to calculations of official data.

By category, exports of labor-intensive products declined at a slower pace in August due to lower base last year. Of that, exports of textile products including masks fell by 6.4% year over year in August, narrowing by 11.5 percentage points from July, while the decline of exports of suitcases, apparels and shoes/boots narrowed to 8.9%, 12.5% and 22%, showed the data.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products declined by 7.3% on year in August, narrowing by 4.6 percentage points from the previous month, and of that, exports of high-tech products fell by 13.2%, narrowing by 4.9 percentage points from the previous month. Exports of mobile phones slid by 20.5% in August from a year earlier, compared to the 2.3% gain in July, showed the data.

During the first eight months of the year, China’s total imports and exports reached 27.08 trillion yuan, edging down 0.1% from a year ago and marking a historical high level for the same period, with exports rising by 0.8% to 15.47 trillion yuan, and imports falling 1.3% to 11.61 trillion yuan, according to the customs data.

Trade surplus expanded by 7.3% to 3.86 trillion yuan, it said.

Imports have now fallen every month in 2023 from the year-ago period. Exports have fallen year-on-year for every month since April as global demand for Chinese goods wanes.