CHINA EXPORTS FALL AHEAD OF TRADE TALKS
Shipments across the Pacific fell 13.2pc from a year earlier, while imports from US down 25.7pc
CHINA’S exports fell more than expected last month, while imports rose, official data showed yesterday, ahead of highstakes talks aimed at resolving a trade war with the United States.
The world’s two leading economies face a possible makeor-break moment when top negotiators
meet in Washington this week following months of fraught talks.
US President Donald Trump has upped the ante with plans to more than double tariffs on US$200 billion (RM829.68 billion) in Chinese goods tomorrow, the last day of a two-day visit by President Xi Jinping’s point man Vice-Premier Liu He.
Last month, China’s exports across the Pacific fell 13.2 per cent from a year earlier, while imports from the US declined 25.7 per cent, according to the data from China’s customs administration.
The politically sensitive trade surplus with the US remained large, widening to US$21 billion last month from US$20.5 billion in March.
Global markets have taken a beating this week as investors grow increasingly concerned that the China-US trade deal, which last week appeared all but ready to sign, could fall through.
US negotiators accused Beijing of reneging on commitments made during months of talks focusing on clamping down on theft of US technology and reducing China’s subsidies.
“If Trump’s threat becomes reality, it will be a game changer for the global economy,” said Steve Cochrane, chief APAC economist at Moody’s Analytics, adding the worst-case scenario would result in a US recession and a rapid reduction of growth in China.
Tepid global demand for China’s goods have heightened the risk for Beijing, which posted 6.4 per cent economic growth in the first quarter, having decelerated every quarter last year.