China's shrinking imports, slower exports growth darken economic outlook

INA-sources
 
China's imports contracted sharply in April, while exports grew at a slower pace, reinforcing signs of feeble domestic demand despite the lifting of COVID curbs and heaping pressure on an economy already struggling in the face of cooling global growth.
 
Inbound shipments to the world's second largest economy fell by 7.9% year on year, while exports grew by 8.5% in the same period after an unexpected surge of 14.8% in March, customs data showed on Tuesday.
"The growth rate of imports continued to decline year on year, indicating that it is being dragged down simultaneously by seasonality and the continued weak recovery of the domestic economy," said Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang Lasalle.
 
Government officials have repeatedly warned of a "severe" and "complicated" external environment in the wake of mounting recession risks for many of China's key trading partners. Analysts say cooling global growth pointed to a longer road to recovery for the Asian giant after Beijing abruptly ended tough COVID curbs in December.
 
 
 
Source: Reuters