The latest official data from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) shows that both exports and imports in September fell below expectations. In terms of US dollars, exports have significantly decreased, far below the market expectations. Exports have been one of the main sources of economic growth for China.
On October 14, data released by the General Administration of Customs of the CCP showed that, in US dollar terms, the export value for September was 303.71 billion yuan, slowing to 2.4%, a substantial decrease compared to the previous month with a significant narrowing of 6.3 percentage points, marking a five-month low and falling short of the market expectation of 6%.
Imports stood at 222 billion yuan, slowing to 0.3%, a decrease of 0.2% from the previous month and lower than the expected 0.9%; the trade surplus was 81.71 billion US dollars, with the market anticipating 89.8 billion US dollars, lower than the previous value of 91.02 billion US dollars.
In terms of Chinese yuan, the export value for September was 21,700 billion yuan, slowing to 1.6%, hitting a new low since March; imports were 15,800 billion yuan, down by 0.5%, marking a new low since June; and the trade surplus was 582.62 billion yuan.
Reuters stated that exports have always been a bright spot in the Chinese economy, but with weak domestic demand and the debt crisis in the real estate market, economic growth has been lacking momentum. The significant slowdown in export growth in September and the unexpected deceleration in import growth are well below expectations. The weak data does not bode well for exports in the coming months as nearly one-third of China’s procurement is used for re-exporting components, especially in the electronics sector.
During the first three quarters, the growth of imports and exports has also slowed down.
In Chinese yuan terms, exports amounted to 18.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.2%, a slowdown of 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous eight months; imports totaled 13.71 trillion yuan, with a growth of 4.1%; and the trade surplus was 4.9 trillion yuan, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous eight months.
Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, Wang Lingjun, admitted during a press conference that the current domestic and international environment is increasingly complex, and foreign trade development faces challenges.