China’s foreign trade contracted for yet another month in September, confirming that demand all round remains weak.
The decline in exports and imports of 6.2% for the month was smaller than the month before, but nevertheless another reminder of the failure of the economy to continue its post Covid rebound.
In US dollar terms, China’s exports have now fallen on a year-on-year basis every month in May, while imports have been falling since September, 2022.
The sluggish performance saw the country’s trade surplus last month jump to more than $US77.7 billion from just over $US68.3 billion in August.
The Customs Administration said that exports in September fell to Japan (-6.4% yoy), South Korea (-7%), Taiwan (-41%), Australia (-17.8%), the US (-9.3%), the ASEAN countries (-15.8%), and the EU (-11.6%).
Imports contracted from Japan (-13.7%), South Korea (-14.8%), Taiwan (-14.8%), the US (-12.6%), and the ASEAN countries (-7.0%); while edging up from the EU (0.6%) and Australia (4.9%)
