Publications
Partners
Beijing - China’s exports surged and its trade surplus unexpectedly widened in February, illustrating the lopsided nature of global commerce that Donald Trump is preparing to introduce protectionist measures against.
Overall exports rose 44.5% in February from a year earlier and those to the US surged 46.1%, customs data showed on Thursday.
Import growth slowed to 6.3% to leave a trade surplus of $33.7bn. China’s aluminum exports ballooned to a three-year high while those of steel dropped 27% for the first two months.
Even though seasonal effects and the yuan’s weakness last month likely distorted the data, buyers for China’s exports, from industrial metals to consumer electronics and clothing, are not in short supply.
It’s in the face of such demand that the US President is due to sign orders for fresh tariffs later on Thursday, with more potentially on the way - despite opposition from allies, Republican lawmakers and his own chief economic adviser.
“Global demand remains robust and the economies of the US and Europe are expanding, that’s the biggest boost for Chinese exports,” said Xia Le, chief Asia economist at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA in Hong Kong. “The risk of a trade war in which Trump increases tariffs for a broader scope of products seems to be rising.”
Other data show: Total trade with the US stood at $99bn in the first two months, up 15.8% from a year ago, customs said in a statement China’s monthly surplus with the US widened from a year earlier to $20.96bn
The readings come as the legislature convenes in Beijing for its annual meeting to chart policy for the coming year. Premier Li Keqiang on Monday announced a 2018 growth goal of around 6.5%, omitting an aim for a faster pace, while pledging to open markets further and seek “more balanced development of trade.”
Elements of the report illustrate the intertwined nature of global trade that unilateral tariffs can do little to untangle. Exports and imports of foreign-invested enterprises in the first two months reached 1.92 trillion yuan, making up 42.4% of the country’s total trade. In the same period, machinery and electronics exports rose 18% to 1.43 trillion yuan, making up 58.4% of exports.
While February data look dramatic, economists warn against over-interpreting numbers from the first two months of the year. Seasonal swings - related to the shutdown of factories and office over the Chinese New Year holiday often make interpretation complicated, and this year a low base comparison from the previous year may have inflated the data.
What Bloomberg economists say:
The export surge is surprising as holiday effects were expected to crimp gains, “but it’s still very likely a reflection of one-off effects, not a change in the trend,” Bloomberg economists Tom Orlik and Fielding Chen said in a note.
“Policy makers will find it as difficult as traders to make any sense of what the data say about trends, so the implications for policy are limited.”
That may count for little in the current febrile atmosphere of US-China trade politics. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday vowed a “justified and necessary response” to trade threats, following Trump’s hints broader protectionist measures are on the way.
“A trade war is never the right solution,” Wang said at a briefing on
the sidelines of the congress. “In a globalized world, it is
particularly unhelpful, as it will harm both the initiator and the
target countries.”
* Sign up to Fin24's top news in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO FIN24 NEWSLETTER
