China facing ‘soft’ trade outlook as export machine splutters amid fading external demand

• China’s exports grew by 7.1 per cent in August compared with a year earlier, but were down from 18 per cent growth in July, while imports grew by 0.3 per cent last month
• The weak data also further dragged down the yuan’s exchange rate against the US dollar, now seen as no longer good news for China’s export-oriented economy