China’s exports slid 9.9% on year in Dec, imports fell at slower pace, 2022 foreign trade hit new record high
DATA MACRO
China’s exports slid 9.9% on year in Dec, imports fell at slower pace, 2022 foreign trade hit new record high
DATA MACRO

China’s exports slid 9.9% on year in Dec, imports fell at slower pace, 2022 foreign trade hit new record high

 

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China’s December exports declined at the fastest pace since March 2020 amid sluggish overseas demand, highlighting risks to the country’s economic recovery, while imports fell at a slower pace, suggesting that domestic demand may slowly recover in coming months.

Exports in US dollar terms declined by 9.9% in December from a year earlier, extending a 8.7% drop in the previous month, though slightly beating expectations, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Friday. That’s the steepest decline since February 2020.

Exports to the US tumbled 19.5% in December from a year ago, those to the EU fell 17.5%, while shipments to Japan declined by 3.3%, showed customs data.

Shipments to ASEAN countries rose by 7.5% on year in December, picking up by 2.3 percentage points from the previous month.

For the full year of 2022, China’s exports grew by 7% driven by its strong trade with Southeast Asian nations as well as an export boom of new energy vehicles, though the growth was well below a 29.6% gain in 2021.

Imports fell 7.5% year over year in December, showed the customs data, narrowing from a 10.6% drop in November and better than a forecast 9.8% decline.

China’s 2022 trade surplus hit an all-time peak of $877.6 billion, the highest since records started in 1950, compared with $670.4 billion in 2021.

“The weak export growth highlights the importance of boosting domestic demand as the key driver for the economy in 2023,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, adding markets expect Beijing to announce more policies to support consumption.

Policymakers have pledged to increase support for the economy as they are eager to underpin growth and ease disruptions caused by the sudden end to COVID-19 curbs.

China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that slowing external demand and the rising risks of a global recession are posing the biggest pressures to the country’s trade stabilisation, leaving “arduous tasks”, but major exporting provinces have been seeing improvement in getting new orders.