The value of yuan-denominated trade between China and the rest of the world fell 0.8% year-on-year in January and February, according to official data released today by China’s General Administration of Customs.
Specifically, exports increased by 0.9% to 3.5 trillion yuan (504,585 million dollars, 471,933 million euros).
However, imports contracted 2.9% compared to the same period last year, standing at 2.68 trillion yuan (386,368 million dollars, 361,366 million euros).
In the first two months, exchanges with other countries totaled some 6.18 trillion yuan (890.875 million dollars, 833.306 million euros).
Thus, the Asian giant’s trade surplus was 895,720 million yuan (129,133 million dollars, 120,777 million euros) in January and February, representing a year-on-year increase of 16.2%.
Customs also made public the data of exchanges denominated in dollars, which usually present divergences compared to those presented in the Chinese currency due to fluctuations in exchange rates.
In the US currency, Chinese international trade fell sharply again (-8.3% yoy), with exports shrinking 6.8% and imports 10.2%.
Analysts had already predicted that starting in the last months of 2022, China’s trade statistics would suffer as the world moved out of pandemic consumption patterns while at the same time reducing its demand for home-produced goods. the Asian country due to high inflation, interest rate rises and the prospects of global recession.