(March 10): China’s export growth accelerated far faster than expected in the first two months of the year, putting shipments on a record path before US and Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted global trade.
Exports soared almost 22% from a year earlier, compared with a 7.2% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Imports jumped nearly 20%, according to a statement released by the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday, leaving a surplus of US$213.6 billion — an all-time high for the period.
The strong start to the year means China’s sales abroad were still gaining momentum before the Iran war broke out at the end of last month. The escalating crisis in the Middle East now poses new risks for the world’s largest exporter as the economic fallout from the war spreads outside the region.
Already, the world’s largest container carriers are rerouting ships to avoid the Persian Gulf while major e-commerce platforms are warning of longer delivery times to the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s energy exports transit, remains all but closed.
The first official trade figures for the year come just weeks before a summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump to discuss their tariff truce.
See also: China apparel makers brace for price hikes as oil surges
China’s export boom last year generated a record US$1.2 trillion trade surplus despite the tariff war with the US, helping the economy overcome a domestic slowdown. But such growth will be harder to sustain in an era of rising protectionism across the world.
China publishes combined trade figures for January and February to smooth out distortions caused by the irregular timing of the Lunar New Year holiday. Single-month data for the period is due later in March.
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
