BEIJING: China’s overseas shipments last month jumped the most in two years as global demand held up. Imports moderated after a holiday-season surge in February and the trade balance rose. The pace of trade expansion is likely to slow in the second quarter, a customs spokesman said at a briefing. Trade remained “sound and steady” in the first quarter, but the data don’t show the full picture for 2017, officials said in a statement released with the data. “The March number is much better compared to previous months because the first two months are often twisted” by the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, said Wang Qiufeng, an analyst at China Chengxin International Credit Rating in Beijing. “The coming quarters won’t be as strong as the first quarter, especially on the imports front, the prices of commodities won’t continue rising, which may drag down on the imports growth,” she said.
Demand for Chinese products has proved resilient this year as the global expansion holds up. Simmering tensions with the country’s largest trading partner also appear to be easing after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping tried to find common ground on trade last week at their first meeting and agreed to a “100-day plan” for discussions. China, whose crude imports in March surged to a record, topped the U.S. as the world’s biggest overseas buyer in the first quarter. Iron ore imports were near a monthly record. In the first quarter, exports rose 14.8 percent in yuan terms. Imports increased 31.1 percent to leave a trade surplus of 454.94 billion yuan ($66 billion).
