China’s exports unexpectedly increased

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China’s exports increased unexpectedly. In March, exports increased by 14.8 percent in US dollars compared to the same period last year, Beijing Customs reported on Thursday.

The rise to $315 billion surprised experts, who expected another drop after the 6.8 percent drop in January and February. Trade with Russia is booming. The strong development of Chinese export machinery should give the second largest economy a new impetus.

Imports, on the other hand, decreased slightly by 1.4 percent to 227 billion US dollars. However, the decrease was less than January and February with 10.2 percent. Experts had also expected significantly weaker import figures.

The strong 7.4 percent increase in foreign trade in March marks a reversal of the trend for the world’s largest trading country, after exports fell for five consecutive months. Foreign trade surplus rose to 88 billion dollars.

Trade with Russia rose 71.9 percent in March. In fact, exports to neighboring countries suffering from Western sanctions increased by 136.4 percent. Imports, including cheap energy imports, rose 40.5 percent, according to customs. Since the invasion of Ukraine began more than a year ago, China has supported Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The USA also benefited. China imported 5.6 percent more than the US in March. According to customs, exports to the largest economy fell by 7.7 percent. China’s exports to and imports from the EU increased by 3.4 percent.

Chinese foreign trade has noticeably weakened last year due to strict corona measures in China and falling global demand. After the end of the zero-COVID strategy with its highly restrictive measures in December, a severe corona wave initially paralyzed the Chinese economy and only recently has noticeably rebounded.

At a cabinet meeting last week, new Prime Minister Li Qiang made clear how important exports are to China, calling for “every method to try” to stabilize foreign trade. While China’s growth was only three percent last year, the government has set a target of around five percent for this year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects 5.2 percent.

(SDA)

Source :Blick