- China’s trade slumped this year due to weak global demand for Chinese goods and subdued domestic demand.
- The world’s second-largest economy will release September trade data on Friday.
An aerial view of a container ship leaving the shipyard in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province.
Future publishing | Future publishing | Getty Images
BEIJING – China reported a smaller-than-expected year-on-year decline in exports in September, while imports fell, according to customs data released on Friday.
In U.S. dollar terms, exports fell 6.2% last month compared to a year earlier. That’s less than the 7.6% decline forecast by analysts in a Portal poll.
Imports also fell 6.2% in U.S. dollars in September from a year earlier – slightly more than the 6% decline expected in the Portal poll.
China’s exports have fallen year-on-year every month since May this year. The last positive year-on-year import figure was in September last year.
China’s trade slumped this year due to weak global demand for Chinese goods and subdued domestic demand.
The decline in trade with major trading partners was offset by Chinese imports from the European Union, which rose slightly in September compared to a year earlier, according to CNBC’s calculations of official data.
The US is China’s largest trading partner at the country level, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently overtook the EU as China’s largest trading partner at the regional level.
In the first three quarters of the year, China’s exports to the US fell 16.4%, while imports fell 6% during that period.
Russia was the only major country or region to record year-on-year growth in both exports and imports in the first three quarters of the year, according to the China Customs Administration report.
By product category, China’s global automobile exports continued to grow the fastest, increasing 64.4% year-on-year on a unit basis in the first three quarters of 2023. That’s slower than the 69% growth rate for the year recorded in August.
China’s exports of ships and boats increased year-on-year on a unit basis from August, rising 16.2% year-on-year in the third quarter.
The volume of China’s cosmetics imports fell by 14.2% in the first three quarters compared to the previous year. Crude oil import volumes rose 14.6% during the period but fell in US dollar terms.
The pace of year-to-date crude oil imports has barely changed in September compared to August.
China’s recovery from the pandemic has slowed in recent months, held back by a slump in its huge real estate sector.
The International Monetary Fund this week cut its growth forecast for China in 2023 to 5% from 5.2%, while sticking with a global growth forecast of 3% for the year. The global economy grew by 3.5% last year.
China is expected to release September retail sales and third-quarter GDP figures on October 18.
Amid rising tensions with the United States and Europe in recent years, China has sought to boost its trade with regional partners in Southeast Asia as well as countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. The BRI is a China-led push to develop regional infrastructure such as ports and railways.
At the end of September, China said it had trains to 217 cities in 25 European countries.
Cargo transported on these railway routes accounted for 8% of trade between China and the EU in 2022, up from 1.5% in 2016, Chinese officials said this week.
China also claimed that imports and exports with Belt and Road partner countries reached $19.1 trillion between 2013 and 2022 – representing an average annual trade growth of 6.4%.
The third Belt and Road Forum is scheduled to take place in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend.