China’s trade surplus with US hits record high even as Nov exports, imports shrink

According to data from China’s customs administration, the country’s import growth hit a two-year low, growing at a moderate pace of 3% from a year ago to $182.7 billion in November. At the same time, exports were up by only 5.4% year-on-year at $227.4 billion, the weakest performance since March and below forecasts of a growth at around 10%.

On the other hand, China’s trade surplus with the US was almost $35.6 billion, as exports to the US rose by 9.8% exports compared with the same month of 2017, while imports declined by 25%. The overall trade surplus in China also rose to $44.75 billion, the largest in almost 11 years and up by 16.4% year-on-year.

Some economists argued that China’s exports to the US may have been boosted by the front-loading companies that rushed out shipments ahead of tariff hikes while others argued the impact of front-loading may be starting to recede.

The weaker-than-expected trade figures followed a 90-day ceasefire reached between the President Trump and Premier Xi at the G20 summit, preventing further increase in tariffs or the imposition of new US tariffs on Chinese products until March 1, 2019.