China Continues Planned Contraction
China’s imports plunged 20.4 percent from a year earlier in September, official data showed Tuesday, maintaning the country’s economic slowdown. Exports by the world’s second-largest economy also dropped 3.7 percent, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.
For the January-September period, imports declined 15.3 percent year-on-year, while exports fell 1.9 percent, due to weak internal and external demand. The total value of exports and imports fell 8.1 percent in the first nine months, making it unlikely the nation can meet the government’s trade growth target of about 6 percent this year.
Bureau spokesman Huang Songping attributed the drops to the sluggish global economy, high costs and slumping commodity prices, citing data from the World Trade Organization that showed global exports dropped 10.9 percent year on year in the first seven months, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.
“The State Council has rolled out a series of policies to boost foreign trade, and foreign trade in the fourth quarter is expected to be better than in the third quarter,” Huang was quoted as saying in Beijing.
China’s cabinet issued guidelines in July urging governments at all levels to implement measures to foster imports and exports, as the country strives to open its markets wider and upgrade its economy.
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