China export growth slows in November

China’s overall trade logged a $44.7 billion surplus in November. (File/AFP)

• Exports rose 5.4 percent for November on-year, short of the 9.4 percent forecast by Bloomberg News
• Imports rose 3.0 percent on-year, also below the forecast, according to customs administration data

BEIJING: China’s export growth slowed last month weighed down by trade tensions with the United States, official data released Saturday showed.
Exports rose 5.4 percent for November on-year, short of the 9.4 percent forecast by Bloomberg News, while imports rose 3.0 percent on-year, also below the forecast, according to customs administration data.
China’s overall trade — what it buys and sells with all countries — logged a $44.7 billion surplus in November, up from $35 billion the previous month, the data showed.
The sagging export growth is another bad sign for China’s economy, which grew at its slowest pace for nine years in the third quarter, expanding 6.5 percent on-year for July-September.
Last week as part of a trade war truce, US President Donald Trump agreed to hold off on plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent beginning January 1, leaving them at the current 10 percent rate.
But unease over the agreement has dented stocks this week with major US indices falling more than two percent to close the market’s worst week since March and one that left both the Dow and S&P 500 in negative territory for the year.
China reacted furiously after a top executive and daughter of the founder of Chinese telecom giant Huawei was arrested in Canada this week following a US extradition request.
The arrest threatens to rattle the trade war truce with the United States, analysts say.