BEIJING: China’s exports topped forecasts in November, driven by a surge in shipments to non-US markets as manufacturers deepen trade ties with the rest of the world in light of President Donald Trump’s prohibitively high tariffs.
The world’s second-largest economy has ramped up efforts to diversify its export markets since Trump won last November’s presidential election, pursuing closer trade ties with Southeast Asia and the European Union, and leveraging Chinese firms’ global footprint to establish new production hubs for low-tariff access.
China’s exports grew 5.9 per cent year-on-year, customs data showed on Monday (Dec 8), reversing from a 1.1 per cent contraction a month prior, and beating a 3.8 per cent forecast in a Reuters poll.
Imports were up 1.9 per cent, compared to a 1.0 per cent uptick in October. Economists had expected a 3.0 per cent increase.
“The tariff cuts agreed under the US-China trade truce didn’t help to lift shipments to the US last month, but overall export growth rebounded nonetheless,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics. “We expect China’s exports will remain resilient, with the country continuing to gain global market share next year.”
“The role of trade rerouting in offsetting the drag from U.S. tariffs still appears to be increasing,” she added.
The average US tariff on Chinese goods stands at 47.5 per cent, well above the 40 per cent threshold that economists say erodes Chinese exporters’ profit margins.
Chinese shipments to the US dropped 29 per cent in November year-on-year, the data shows, even though the month began with news that the United States and China had agreed to scale back some of their tariffs and a raft of other measures after Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in South Korea on Oct 30.
Exports to the European Union grew an annual 14.8 per cent last month, while shipments to Australia surged 35.8 per cent, and the fast-growing Southeast Asian economies took in 8.2 per cent more goods over the same period.
That boosted China’s trade surplus to US$111.68 billion in November, the highest since June, from US$90.07 billion recorded the previous month, and above a forecast of US$100.2 billion.
The trade surplus for the 11 months of the year topped $1 trillion for the first time.
“Electronic machinery and semiconductors seem to be key,” said Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group. “There is a shortage in lower-grade chips and other electronics, which meant prices jumped, and Chinese companies going global have been importing all kinds of machinery and other inputs from China.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-exports-november-top-expectations-strong-sales-non-us-markets-5567251
