By Ellen Zhang, Joe Cash and Ethan Wang
BEIJING- China’s exports gathered pace in December, while imports recovered, closing out the year on a positive note as the world’s second-largest economy braces for mounting trade risks with the incoming US administration.
US President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House next week, has proposed hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, sparking fears of a renewed trade war between the two superpowers.
Adding to the challenges, unresolved disputes with the European Union over tariffs of up to 45.3 percent on Chinese electric vehicles threaten to hinder China’s ambitions to expand its auto exports.
“Trade frontloading became more visible in December as a result of both Chinese New Year effects and Donald Trump’s inauguration,” said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. The festival runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 this year.
“Import growth could be underpinned by stockpiling of commodities like copper and iron ore, as part of (China’s) ‘buy low’ strategy,” he added.
Outbound shipments in December rose 10.7 percent year-on-year, customs data showed on Monday, beating 7.3 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, and improving from November’s 6.7 percent increase.
Imports surprised to the upside with 1.0 percent growth, the strongest performance since July 2024. Economists had expected a 1.5 percent decline.
China’s trade surplus grew to $104.8 billion last month, up from $97.4 billion in November.
A Chinese customs spokesperson told reporters there was still “huge” room for the $18 trillion economy’s imports to grow this year. —Reuters