China’s exports rose more than expected in April and imports climbed, a reflection of strong domestic and international demand despite the pandemic and surging commodity prices.
Exports grew 32.3 percent in dollar terms in April from a year earlier, while imports soared 43.1 percent, the customs administration said Friday. That left a trade surplus of $42.85 billion for the month. Economists had forecast exports would increase 24.1 percent, while imports would gain 44 percent.
Global appetite for Chinese goods remained strong in the month, thanks to stimulus packages introduced by developed economies and China’s status as the world’s biggest exporter.
“The export figure clearly reflects a recovering and expanding global economy,” said Hao Zhou, an economist at Commerzbank AG in Singapore. “Robust imports and exports also mean that China’s manufacturing industry is still outperforming the services sector to lead the economic rebound.”
The US was the biggest export market last month, accounting for 15.9 percent of Chinese goods sold abroad. Southeast Asian nations bought 15.6 percent of exports, while the European Union purchased 15.1 percent.
Soaring commodity prices and China’s strong recovery helped to boost imports, which grew at the fastest pace since January 2011. The low base from a year ago also helped to underpin the strong growth figures.
At the Communist Party’s Politburo meeting last week, China’s top leaders pledged to accelerate the recovery in domestic demand and reiterated there would be “no sharp turn” on economic policy. That should help support the rebound and import demand in coming months. Bloomberg News
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