China’s trade last month performed better than expected, with exports and imports declining less than expected even as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted business shutdowns around the world.
Exports declined 6.6 percent in US-dollar terms from a year earlier, while imports fell 0.9 percent, the Chinese Customs Administration said yesterday.
Economists had forecast that exports would decline by 13.9 percent, while imports would shrink by 9.8 percent.
Photo: AFP
The trade balance narrowed to US$19.9 billion in the month.
The data indicate that global-supply chains might be adapting better than thought and that China’s gradual economic restart is proceeding. At the same time, the full effect of a collapse in demand in developed economies, such as the US and Europe, might not yet be apparent in China’s trade data.
“Exports did better than people thought as most exporters only saw orders canceled since the middle of the month,” Hong Kong-based Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd economist Zhou Xue (周雪) said. “The expected plunge in exports was not fully reflected in the data and the second quarter could be much worse.”
The ASEAN became China’s biggest trading partner bloc, surpassing the EU, partly due to the effect of Brexit, but also increasing regional semiconductor trade, Chinese Customs Administration spokesman Li Kuiwen (李奎文) told a news conference in Beijing.
Even as the domestic virus situation is improving, more and more of China’s overseas markets are locking down, which could not only hit demand for China’s goods, but also damage the supply of raw materials and intermediate components.
“Export orders have been stopped by US and Europe importers after early March, as the number of city lockdowns increased. This will affect April’s exports,” Hong Kong-based ING NV economist Iris Pang (彭藹嬈) said. “Unless the world relaxes measures of social distancing after relaxing lockdowns altogether, trade flows will be disrupted, exporters will face dismal demand from the whole world.”
The WTO last week said that this year could see the worst collapse in international trade since the Great Depression. Its optimistic scenario saw a 13 percent drop this year in the volume of international goods trade, worse than the 12 percent fall during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Its pessimistic scenario sees the volume of global goods trade dropping by as much as 32 percent this year.
Policymakers around the world have rushed to introduce stimulus to help their economies over the shutdowns and social distancing, but there is little hard evidence of a peak in infections yet.
The Chinese State Council has ordered more measures to “stabilize trade,” including building more cross-border e-commerce zones and moving the country’s main trade fair online.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
RSS