China’s trade recorded a contraction in October as a result of the impact of restrictions to contain COVID-19 and weakening demand due to the global slowdown, leading to the first simultaneous drop in Chinese exports and imports since May 2020, according to data from the Asian giant’s General Administration of Customs.
Specifically, China’s trade volume in October totaled $511.59 billion (€513.754 billion), down 8.7% from the previous month and 0.4% compared to the same month in 2021.
Chinese exports totaled 298.370 billion dollars (299.632 billion euros) in October, down 7.5% from September and 0.3% year-on-year.
On the other hand, the Asian giant’s foreign purchases reached a total value of 213.22 billion dollars (214.122 billion euros), representing a monthly decline of 10.4% and 0.7% in the year-on-year comparison.
Thus, in the first ten months of 2022, Chinese trade reached a volume of exchanges of 5.25 trillion dollars (5.27 trillion euros), up 7.7%.
China’s exports between January and October totaled 2.99 trillion dollars (3 trillion euros), up 11.1%, while imports increased by 3.5% to 2.26 trillion dollars (2.27 trillion euros).
«China’s export volumes fell sharply in October, due to deteriorating global economic conditions and a pandemic-related reversal in demand,» said Zichun Huang, an economist at Capital Economics, warning that exports are expected to weaken further in the coming quarters as the global economy moves closer to a recession.
On the other hand, information from the General Administration of Customs of China reveals that during last October the Asian giant increased its purchases from Russia by 36% annually, up to 10,229.8 million dollars (10,273 million euros).
Likewise, China’s exports to Russia reached 7,407.6 million dollars (7,439 million euros) in October, an increase of 34.6%.
On the other hand, China reduced its exports to the EU by 8.9%, with a value of 44,123.6 million dollars (44,310 million euros). Likewise, Chinese purchases from the EU fell by 5% year-on-year in October, to 21,447.6 million dollars (21,538 million euros).
In the case of the United States, Chinese exports in October totaled 47,018 million dollars (47,217 million euros), down 12.5%, while imports fell by 1.5% to 12,823.8 million dollars (12,878 million euros).
