US-China trade war ‘still within control’, Beijing says, as trade gap widens due to soaring Chinese exports
- March data shows exports soared while imports crashed, with analysts suggesting the government is subsidising exports to counter the effect of US tariffs
- Exports grew by 14.2 per cent in March, a big jump from the 20.8 per cent fall in January and February, while exports contracted by 7.6 per cent
The US-China trade war is “still within control”, said a Chinese government spokesman, as the country’s trade surplus widened significantly in March.
Exports soared while imports crashed, new data released on Friday showed, with analysts pointing to the seasonal distortions of the Lunar New Year holiday, as well as possible Chinese government intervention in the economy.
“The China-US trade frictions have caused certain impacts to the operations of Chinese companies, but we think the overall impacts are still within control,” said Li Kuiwen, a spokesman for China’s General Administration of Customs.
He described trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies as a “ballast stone” of support. “We believe the trade relations between China and the US will surely achieve better mutual benefit and win-win results because of the joint efforts of the two countries,” Li said.
Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, said that this figure suggested Beijing is using export subsidies to counter the effect of tariffs on Chinese companies. “It shows that the government is trying very hard to export,” she said.