China’s sharp drop in imports led by weaker demand for aircraft, soybeans and smartphone screens

China’s purchases of aircraft, soybeans and LED screens fell sharply in the first nine months of 2019, reflecting disruptions to global supply chains caused by the China-United States trade war and a slowdown in the world’s second biggest economy.

Overall Chinese imports dropped 5.0 per cent in the period January to September from a year earlier to US$1.55 trillion, while September imports fell 8.5 per cent alone, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Monday. The weak figures spell broader trouble for the global economy, which depends on Chinese demand to support growth.

But imports from other countries also suffered, with purchases from Japan down 7.6 per cent in the first nine months of the year, while those from South Korea fell 17.8 per cent.

Imports from the European Union bucked the trend, rising marginally by 0.3 per cent in the year-to-date period, but well below the 14.4 per cent gain of the same period in 2018.

Imports of hi-tech products, a general term that covers goods from computer chips to semi-finished components, dropped 7.9 per cent in the first nine months of 2019, compared with the same period a year ago. LED panel screens, which are imported in bulk from South Korea and Taiwan and assembled into smartphones and tablet computers ready for export, dropped 13.8 per cent in the period by volume, customs data showed.