Chinese imports of American goods plunged in July as a tariff war with Washington intensified.
Imports of US goods fell 19 per cent from a year earlier to $10.9 billion, customs data showed Thursday, though that was an improvement over June’s 31.4 per cent fall. Exports to the United States declined 6.5 per cent to $38.8 billion.
Beijing has retaliated for US tariff hikes in a dispute over trade and technology by imposing its own punitive duties and suspending purchases of American soybeans and other goods.
The latest data follow President Donald Trump’s threat last week to extend punitive duties to an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports.
China’s total exports rose 3.3 per cent over a year earlier to $221.5 billion, rebounding from June’s 1.3 per cent contraction amid weakening global consumer demand.
Imports shrank 5.6 per cent to $176.4 billion, an improvement over the previous month’s 7.3 per cent decline.
“Shipments in and out of China held up better than expected last month, but a sustained turnaround still looks unlikely in the near-term,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report.
China’s central bank rattled global financial markets this week by allowing its yuan to weaken to an 11-year low against the US dollar.
That would make Chinese goods less expensive abroad but the currency’s 5 per cent decline this year against the dollar is too small to completely offset US tariffs of 25 per cent.
China’s global trade surplus widened by 60 per cent over a year ago to $45.1 billion.
The surplus with the United States was little changed but stood at $28 billion, a level that might fuel American pressure for Chinese concessions in trade talks.
Imports of US goods were down 28.3 per cent in the first seven months of 2019 compared with a year earlier, according to the General Administration of Customs of China.
Washington and Beijing are locked in an increasingly costly tariff war over US complaints China steals or pressures companies to hand over technology.
The United States and other Chinese trading partners complain Beijing’s plans for government-led development of global competitors in robotics and other fields violates its market-opening commitments.