BEIJING, Oct. 13 (BNA) The growth of China’s imports and exports slowed in September amid shipping bottlenecks and other disruptions accompanied by the outbreak of the coronavirus, according to customs data reported Wednesday.
The report showed exports rising 28.1% to $305.7 billion. That was slightly slower than the 33% increase recorded in August, but faster than economists had expected. Imports rose 17.6% to $240 billion, down from 26% in the previous month but slightly more than expected.
The turmoil in industrial supply chains has continued after last year’s global economic downturn. Rising infections in the United States and some other markets have also dented consumer confidence, according to the Associated Press.
Trade figures for this year are distorted compared to 2020, when global demand fell in the first half after governments closed factories and stores to combat the pandemic. Chinese exporters reopened after the ruling Communist Party declared the virus under control in March 2020, while foreign competitors are still hampered by anti-virus restrictions.
Economists have predicted that rising global demand for Chinese goods will stabilize as anti-disease controls are eased and the leisure, travel and other services industries reopen.
Overall growth in two-way trade increased 15% in the July-September period, slowing from 25% year-over-year in the previous quarter.
The report said the politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States rose to $42 billion in September from about $38 billion in August.
More than three years after former US President Donald Trump launched a tariff war on Beijing, the administration of his successor, Joe Biden, has not said whether it would agree to Chinese demands to roll back some of those punitive duties.
Catherine Tay, Biden’s top trade official, said last week that she plans to have frank talks with Beijing over complaints about policies that foreign companies say give their Chinese competitors an unfair advantage.
RAE