China’s exports edged up for the first time in seven months in November, although exporters are still experiencing consistent pressure from sluggish external demand.
Exports improved modestly last month, increasing by 0.5 per cent from a year earlier to US$291.9 billion, according to customs data released on Thursday.
“China’s export growth turned positive in November. The improvement in exports is broadly in line with market expectation,” said Zhang Zhiwei, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
“Indeed, the sequential growth in China’s exports in the past few months strengthened. There are green shoots in other Asian countries’ export data as well in recent months.”
China’s imports, meanwhile, fell by 0.6 per cent last month to US$223.5 billion, compared to 3 per cent growth in October, and lower than the expectation from Wind for growth of 3.5 per cent.
China’s total trade surplus in November stood at US$68.3 billion, up from US$56.5 billion in October.
The world’s leading exporter is confronting a series of trade challenges amid a global economic slowdown and shifting supply chain landscape, which are casting doubt over China’s recovery.
