China’s exports and imports both fell in June, as higher US trade war tariffs blitz Chinese economy

Exports fell by 1.3 per cent year-on-year after tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods were raised from 10 per cent to 25 per cent by Washington in May

Over the first half of the year, China’s exports to the US fell by 8.1 per cent to US$199.4 billion, while imports dropped by 29.9 per cent to US$58.9 billion

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Exports performed slightly better than economists polled by Bloomberg, who had forecast a 1.7 per cent drop, while imports were lower, with the poll predicting a 4.6 per cent drop. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:54pm, 12 Jul 2019Updated: 5:00am, 13 Jul 2019

China’s exports fell in June, as trade tariff increases from the United States came into effect, while imports continued to weaken amid declining domestic demand.

In June, exports fell by 1.3 per cent year-on-year to US$212.8 billion, after tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods were raised from 10 per cent to 25 per cent by Washington in May. This was down from 1.1 per cent growth in May.

Imports, meanwhile, continued to slump, falling 7.3 per cent in June to US$161.8 billion, according to data published by General Administration of Customs in China on Friday. This followed a 8.5 per cent decline in May.

Exports performed slightly better than economists polled by Bloomberg, who had forecast a 1.7 per cent drop, while imports were lower, with the poll predicting a 4.6 per cent drop.

China’s overall trade surplus was US$50.98 billion in June, up from US$41.65 billion. This was ahead of the median poll by Bloomberg, which had predicted a balance of US$45 billion.

The weak trade data points to considerable pressure on the world’s second largest economy, as it battles to contain the effects of the trade war with the US, which has now been running for longer than a year.

Beijing is struggling to maintain its growth momentum, with the country resuming trade talks this week after US President Donald Trump met Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka at the end of June.