China’s trade growth last month accelerated in a sign of resilient global and domestic consumer demand.
Exports rose 8.1 percent to US$198.3 billion, up from August’s 5.5 percent, trade data yesterday showed. Imports rose 18.7 percent to US$169.8 billion, an improvement from August’s 13.3 percent.
The figures were a positive sign for Chinese demand, despite forecasters’ expectations that economic growth will slow this year as Beijing tightens controls on bank lending to rein in surging debt. Business activity stepped up also due partly to the late timing of the nation’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which left more working days in September this year than last year.
Export growth was unexpectedly strong in the first half of the year, a positive sign for Chinese leaders who want to avoid job losses in trade-related industries as they try to nurture consumer-led economic growth.
The IMF expects China’s economic growth this year to slip to 6.6 percent from last year’s 6.7 percent and to below 6.2 percent for next year.
China’s global trade surplus last month shrank 38.6 percent from the same time last year to US$28.5 billion.
The politically volatile surplus with the United States was US$28.1 billion. US officials have resumed criticizing Chinese policy after President Donald Trump in April said he would shelve disputes while Washington and Beijing cooperated on North Korea.
The surplus with the 28-nation EU, China’s biggest trading partner, was US$9.2 billion.
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