BEIJING: China’s exports fell by 3.2 per cent in October as compared to the same month in 2015, while imports rose 3.2 per cent year-on-year, according to official data. The Asian giant, the world’s largest exporter, recorded its second consecutive month of declines in its overseas sales, following a decline of 5.6 per cent year-on-year in September, the General Administration of Customs announced.
The country’s trade surplus in October reached 325.2 billion yuan ($A62.25 billion), rising from 278.4 billion yuan in September. The total volume of Chinese foreign trade in October stood at 2.05 trillion yuan, showing a drop of 0.6 per cent as compared to the same month of the previous year. Of this, 1.19 trillion yuan came from exports, and the other 0.86 trillion, from imports. The second monthly fall in exports confirms a slowdown of the foreign sector recovery as seen in the summer, although imports, that indicate internal demand, continued their upward march, aided by a recovery in oil prices.
In the aggregate of the first 10 months of this year, Chinese exports showed a cumulative decline of two per cent year-on-year, while imports fell 1.8 per cent as compared to the January-October period of 2015. China’s foreign trade slipped 1.9 per cent year-on-year between January and October, while its trade balance recorded an accumulated surplus of 2.9 trillion yuan.
