China August trade slumps in latest setback
BEIJING (AFP) - China's imports and exports slumped again in August, authorities said Tuesday, the latest setback for the world's number-one trader in goods, as European businesses urged authorities to accelerate reforms to avoid stagnation in the giant
The figures come as a growth slowdown in China's economy - whose demand for commodities and status as a vital market make it a key driver of the world economy - has sent panic through global markets.
Beijing is trying to rebalance to a more sustainable economic model where expansion is predominantly driven by domestic consumer demand rather than exports and investment, but the transition is not proving easy, a situation exacerbated by weak demand in some of China's major markets.
The European Union Chamber of Commerce warned in an annual report that "slow" implementation of market reforms risked plunging the country into stagnation.
Chinese authorities are targeting year-on-year growth of around six per cent in two-way trade this year. Instead it fell by 9.1 per cent overall in August, measured in dollar terms, Customs said.
"Exports to the US and the Association of South-East Asian Nations continued to grow but shipments to the EU and Japan declined," Customs said on its website.
Exports fell 5.5 per cent year-on-year to $196.9 billion in August, it said.
The drop, though, was significantly less than the median forecast of a 6.6 per cent decline in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News, and also an improvement from July's 8.3 per cent fall.
Imports fell 13.8 per cent year-on-year to $136.6 billion, Customs said, attributing the decline to widespread commodity price falls.
It was the 10th consecutive monthly fall in import values, and worse than both the Bloomberg survey's projection of a 7.9 per cent decline, and July's 8.1 per cent drop.
"Globally everyone has had a very, very weak period of exports and economic growth," said Jefferies Group strategist Sean Darby.
"It's not just China, but also Taiwan, Korea, and most of Asia and emerging markets. China gets the focus because it's the biggest, but in reality, no one is having a very good time out there."
China's trade surplus was $60.2 billion last month, Customs said, without giving the change in dollar terms. It earlier said that measured in China's yuan currency the surplus had risen 20.1 per cent.
RELATED
