China’s trade surplus with US hits record level as businesses scramble to beat tariff deadline
- November figures show gap reaching US$35.5 billion but some of that may be down to businesses stockpiling goods before threatened increase in tariffs
- Falling imports highlight impact of slowing domestic demand
China’s trade surplus with the US rose to a new high of US$35.5 billion last month as businesses raced to prepare for a threatened increase in tariffs over the new year.
China’s exports to the US rose by 9.7 per cent year on year to US$46.2 billion in November, while imports dropped 25 per cent to US$10.6 billion, according to data published by the General Administration of Customs in China on Saturday.
But China’s overall trade last month was worse than expected, with export growth slowing to 5.4 per cent and import growth slowing to 3 per cent.
This marked a big fallback from the double-digit expansions recorded in recent months as China’s economy continued to slow down with many small private exporters cutting back their operations and laying off staff.
However, due to the Chinese currency’s depreciation against the dollar, in yuan terms exports rose by 10.2 per cent and imports by 7.8 per cent.