China’s export growth lost steam in 2019 amid US trade war, decelerating sharply to 0.5 per cent

China’s exports rose only 0.5 per cent in US dollar terms in 2019, a sharp deceleration from a rise of 9.9 per cent in 2018, according to data released on Tuesday

In December, China’s exports grew by 7.6 per cent, up from minus 1.3 per cent in November. Imports rose 16.3 per cent in December, up from 0.3 per cent in November

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Zou Zhiwu, a deputy minister with China’s General Administration of Customs, said that China's exports in 2019, if measured in US dollars, grew only 0.5 per cent from 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 11:47am, 14 Jan 2020Updated: 4:18pm, 17 Feb 2020

China’s export growth decelerated sharply to 0.5 per cent in 2019 in US dollar terms from a rise of 9.9 per cent in 2018 amid the trade war with the United States, according to data released on Tuesday.

Zou Zhiwu, a deputy minister at the General Administration of Customs, confirmed the slowdown at a press conference after China had initially only released its 2019 trade figures only in yuan terms.

Imports, meanwhile, fell by 2.8 per cent in 2019 in in US dollar terms.

In yuan terms, China’s exports expanded by 5 per cent in 2019, while imports expanded 1.6 per cent.

In US dollar terms, China’s exports grew by 7.6 per cent in December, up from minus 1.3 per cent in November. Imports rose 16.3 per cent in December, up from 0.3 per cent in November, with both figures well above analysts’ expectations.

Measured in yuan, China’s exports rose 9 per cent in December from a year earlier, while imports surged 17.7 per cent in the last month of 2019, pointing to strong demand in the world’s second biggest economy.