China’s exports suffer surprise fall in April amid heightened trade war tensions with United States
- Exports dropped by 2.7 per cent in April, countering a 14.2 per cent rise in March and an economic growth rate of 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2019
- US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the 10 per cent levy on US$200 billion of Chinese goods would increase to 25 per cent this week
China’s exports surprisingly shrank in April after a short-lived recovery as fears of an escalating trade war with the United States clouds the economic outlook for the world’s second largest economy.
The decline was a surprise, with analysts having expected a 3 per cent increase in exports, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Imports, an indication of domestic demand, rebounded slightly in April by climbing 4 per cent, reversing part of the 7.6 per cent drop in March.
The latest data from China’s General Administration of Customs also showed April’s trade surplus narrowed by US$18.8 billion to US$13.48 billion overall.
Expectations that Chinese and US negotiators would complete a deal to end the bilateral trade war this week had increased recently until US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.