Weak global demand has further slowed Chinese export growth. Exports in September, calculated in US dollars, increased by only 5.7 percent compared to the same period last year, as reported by Chinese customs. In the previous month, the export machinery had already lost momentum and only achieved growth of 7.1 percent. Imports also increased in September, as in the previous month, by only 0.3 percent.
Exports developed only slightly better than experts had predicted, while imports were slightly worse. Experts cited high inflation in many countries and rising interest rates, which weighed on the global economy, as reasons for the slowdown in growth in Chinese foreign trade. In China, the low domestic demand is slowing down the development of imports, it said.
China's trade with Germany declined
As with the growth figures last week, the release of the foreign trade figures was unexpectedly postponed during the Chinese Communist Party Congress without any reason being given. After the conclusion of the party congress, China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping asserted that the Chinese economy was "resilient". "China cannot develop in isolation from the world."
Chinese trade with Germany fell noticeably by 7.8 percent compared to the same period last year. German exports to China even fell by 9.9 percent. China also exported 5.6 percent less to Germany. On the other hand, while Chinese exports to the European Union increased by 5.6 percent, China's imports from Europe fell by 8.4 percent.
Chinese foreign trade with the USA also fell significantly by 10.1 percent. Chinese exports to the US fell 11.6 percent, while imports from the US fell 4.6 percent.
Chinese economy is recovering
China's economy grew 3.9 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the statistics office previously reported in Beijing. After only 0.4 percent in the second quarter, the second-largest economy showed signs of recovery.
The strict zero-Covid strategy with lockdowns and other restrictions in particular is slowing down the Chinese economy, which is also suffering from a severe real estate crisis, high levels of debt and weak domestic demand.
The government is expected to fall far short of the original growth target for this year. The World Bank expects only 2.8 percent. That would be only the second time in four decades that China's growth has been so low, following the first year of the 2020 pandemic.
