BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s February exports rose to record highs a year ago as the Kovid-19 hit the world’s second-largest economy, custom data showed on Sunday, while imports rose less quickly.
Exports accounted for 154.9% in dollar terms in February compared to a year earlier, while imports rose 17.3%, the highest figure since October-October 2018. The data does not include only January figures.
During the January-February period, exports increased by .60%% over a year earlier, while the country’s economic activity was paralyzed due to the lockdown. That was 38.9% higher than analysts had predicted in a Reuters poll.
Epilepsy-induced paralysis has boosted the country’s recovery due to strong exports benefiting from the success of China’s massive public health crisis.
Customs said in a statement on its website that the decline in global demand has boosted global demand, citing increased imports of Chinese products due to improvements in the manufacturing industry and financial stimulus measures in the European Union and the United States.
In addition, most manufacturing workers (in China) prefer to stay on the lunar New Year holidays, the statement said. “Our survey shows that many companies have been open in the export-oriented provinces and orders are usually delivered after the new year.”
China factory activity usually remains dormant during the lunar New Year break, which falls in mid-February this year, as workers have returned to their homeland. This year, the government has appealed to workers to avoid traveling to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
In January-February, imports grew by 22.2% year-on-year, up 15% from the forecast, partly due to a stoppage of semiconductor and energy products, according to customs.
China had a trade surplus of 103.25 billion dollars in the first two months. Analysts had expected a trade surplus to narrow from ૧ 1.1 billion in December to 5 0.5 billion in December.
‘Normal year’
In yuan terms, exports rose 50.1% in the two months to a year earlier, while imports rose 14.5%.
“Overall trade (in yuan terms) fell 9.7% in January-February last year due to the impact of the new coronavirus, and the lower base was one of the reasons for the large increase this year,” Customs said. “But when compared to normal years, such as the comparable periods in 2018 and 2019, China’s overall trade has grown by about 20%.”
China’s economy expanded 2.3% last year, helped by strong demand for Chinese-made goods such as medical and home appliances, although growth was at its weakest in 44 years.
This year, China has set a modest growth target of at least %%, which has been disrupted by COVID-19 and plans to create a cautious curriculum for a year, amid intense tensions with the United States.
China’s trade surplus with the United States in January-February stood at 51 51.26 billion. Chinese customs do not give a monthly break. The surplus in December was .9 29.92 billion.
Catherine Tai, President Biden’s nominee for U.S. trade representative, said last week that she would fight for an “unfair” category of Chinese trade and economic dealings.
Reported by Stella Kiu and Ryan Wu; Additional reporting by Colin Kian; Edited by Ana Nicolas da Costa and William Mallard
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