Chines exports rose sharply by 32.3% in April
China further improved its trade levels in April, as exports grew and imports hit their highest point in ten years.
The American economy recovered while other nations saw their factory production stall, resulting in increased demand for Chinese made goods.
Exports from the second largest economy in the world rose sharply by 32.3%, to $263.92bn, from the year before, according to China’s General Administration of Customs, surpassing analysts’ estimates of 24.1% and the 30.6% growth seen in March.
“China’s export growth again surprised on the upside,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, adding that two factors – the booming U.S. economy and the COVID-19 crisis in India, causing some orders to shift to China – likely contributed to the strong export growth.
“We expect China’s export growth will stay strong into the second half of this year, as the two factors above will likely continue to favour Chinese manufacturers. Exports will be a key pillar for growth in China this year.”
The figures have helped to push the yuan and equities in China and nearby Asian markets up.
Imports also performed well, jumping by 43.1% from the year before, the most significant gain since January 2011 and up from the 38.1% growth seen in March. It also slightly exceeded the 42.5% rise tipped by a Reuters poll.
But Zhang Yi, chief economist at Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management, said it is unclear if strong import growth, mainly a result of price inflation, will be sustained as China brings its fiscal policy support to a close.
“It must be noted that the fast year-on-year growth today was largely due to the negative growth a year ago. The two-year average growth was only about 10%, which is not that strong.”
Indeed, import volumes for some products are starting to level off. China’s iron ore imports fell 3.5% in April from a month earlier, while copper imports dropped 12.2% on the month.
