China exports up 9.4%, trade surplus at record high
September 8, 2014, 4:31 am

A farmer picks chrysanthemum flowers in Yanpu Village of Xiuning County, east China’s Anhui Province, July 1, 2014 [Xinhua]

Monthly trade surplus reached an all-time high of $49.8 billion, China’s General Administration of Customs said.

In August, China’s imports registered a year-on-year decrease of 2.4 per cent to reach $158.6 billion.

In a series of sweeping reforms published in November last year, China’s ruling Communist Party promised to free up the market by simplifying administration and “restrict central government management of microeconomic issues to the greatest possible extent”.

Trade surplus in August jumped 77.8 per cent year-on-year and hit a record high again, the data showed.

Last month, China’s total trade volume rose 4 per cent year-on-year to $367.1 billion.

In the first eight months, total trade edged up by 2.3 per cent to $2.77 trillion.

“Chinese exports surprised positively in August, benefiting partially from bilateral sanctions between Russia and the EU. Imports were lower than expected, mainly attributable to falling coal imports. Trade surplus was pushed to an all-time high and will likely put pressure on further CNY appreciation,” said Amy Zhuang, Senior Analyst at Nordea.

China’s economy is facing multiple domestic and international challenges despite its steady performance in the past seven months, said a senior economic official in Beijing last week.

“China is dealing with complicated situations with strong uncertainty at home and abroad,” said Xu Shaoshi, Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, a sprawling superministry with a huge swathe of duties ranging from cutting greenhouse gases to deciding energy prices.

As new orders slowed, factory activity in Europe and Asia cooled in August. Euro zone factories stumbled with the final August PMI at 50.7, the lowest in over a year.

TBP and Agencies