In December, China’s exports increased by 2.3% yoy to USD 303.6B, surpassing expectation of 1.7%. However, this growth was not uniform across all regions. Notably, shipments to US saw a significant decline of -6.89% yoy. Similarly, exports to EU and ASEAN countries also dropped, by -1.93% yoy and -6.14% yoy respectively.
On the import front, China experienced a marginal increase of 0.2% yoy to USD 228.2B, which was slightly below the expected 0.3% yoy growth. Consequently, trade surplus widened from USD 68.3B to USD 75.3B, which was above the anticipated USD 74.8B.
For the entire year of 2023, China’s trade figures painted a scenario of contraction. Exports decreased by -4.6% to USD 3.38T, while imports saw -5.5% contraction to USD 2.56T.
