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China exports, imports plunge, boding ill for growth
Chinese exports and imports fell unexpectedly sharply in January, underlining how badly the world's third-largest economy has been hit by the global financial crisis and the impact that is having on its neighbours.Exports fell 17.5 percent from a year earlier, after a 2.8 percent decline in December, while imports plunged 43.1 percent, Chinese are preparing for 30-40% export decline twice as much as December's 21.3 percent year-on-year drop, the General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday. Yet shipments of machinery and electronics and high-tech products, which together make up over three-fourths of China's exports, fell by 20.9 percent and 28.0 percent, respectively. Imports of machinery and high-tech goods fell by roughly 40 percent, boding ill for the countries that sell such components for Chinese factories to assemble. Shipments from Japan fell by 43.5 percent from a year earlier; those from South Korea were down 46.4 percent and from Taiwan, 58 percent. Meanwhile, exports to the United States and European Union fell 9.8 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively. Posted by: ed 2009-02-11 |
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