China, Taiwan and Vietnam successfully contained coronavirus, now they are poster boys for export recovery

China, Taiwan and Vietnam were among the only economies who brought the spread of Covid-19 under control early on

Turkey was the only other nation within the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) data to show a recovery, although this was only marginal

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Taiwan’s exports grew by 6.4 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:59pm, 21 Oct 2020Updated: 12:59pm, 22 Oct 2020

A new study has confirmed the polarised impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the global trade recovery, with East Asian economies powering ahead of those in the West.

China, Taiwan and Vietnam are the only major trading economies whose exports have recovered strongly, with all three reporting strong growth in the third quarter of 2020, according to research by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

The trio were among the only economies who brought the spread of Covid-19 under control early on – although the individual tactics employed were very different.

Vietnam, whose exports surged by 10.9 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier – the highest growth rate in the world, Unctad said – has reported only 1,141 cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday, with just 35 deaths.

China’s exports grew by 8.8 per cent in the third quarter, and while it had a crippling initial outbreak, with 85,715 cases and 4,634 deaths reported, the spread has slowed significantly and world’s most populous nation currently has only 247 active cases, thanks to severe and at the times controversial lockdown measures.

No region was spared from the fall in international trade in the second quarter of 2020, but the sharpest decline was for the West and South Asia regions

Unctad

In Taiwan, exports grew by 6.4 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier. It has reported a total of 543 cases of coronavirus, with only seven deaths since the start of the pandemic and none for more than six months.

Turkey was the only other nation within the Unctad dataset to show a recovery in exports, although this was only marginal 0.7 per cent.