The picture shows the Qianwen Container Terminal in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China on July 11, 2024.
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BEIJING – China’s imports fell in June, missing modest growth expectations, while exports rose more than expected, Customs data released on Friday show.
In U.S. dollar terms, China’s imports fell by 2.3% year-on-year in June. This is in sharp contrast to the 2.8% growth forecast in a Reuters poll.
Exports in dollar terms rose 8.6% year-on-year in June, beating expectations for an 8% increase in a Reuters poll.
The figures bring imports up 2% year-to-date and exports up 3.6% in the first six months compared with the same period last year.
In the first half of this year, the trade volume between China and ASEAN increased by 7.1%, consolidating ASEAN’s position as China’s largest regional trading partner, followed by the EU.
The EU’s trade with China declined in the first six months of 2024, with both imports and exports declining.
In the first half of this year, China’s trade with the United States fell slightly in U.S. dollar terms, with imports from the United States down 4.9%, but exports increased by 1.5%.
In the first six months of this year, China’s trade with Brazil grew rapidly. China’s exports to Brazil increased by 24.4% year-on-year, and its imports increased by 8.3% year-on-year.
Rare earth imports decline
Customs data shows that China’s imports of rare earths, meat, cosmetics and machine tools fell sharply in the first half of this year. However, imports of iron ore and oil increased during this period.
Beijing has been seeking to shore up its own supplies amid slowing domestic economic growth food and key minerals in an effort to enhance national security.
In the first half of the year, my country’s exports of household appliances, ships, automobiles, etc. grew. Data show that rare earth exports fell in value but increased in quantity.
Customs data shows that China’s automobile exports increased by 18% year-on-year last month.
Other reported major retail commodity categories showed that the number of bags exported from China increased by 9% in June compared with the same period last year. The number of shoe exports increased by 3.7% in June, reaching 840 million pairs.
China’s Exports grew 7.6% in May In U.S. dollar terms, compared with last year, imports increased by only 1.8% during the same period.
Domestic demand remains sluggish. China’s consumer prices rose 0.2% June data fell short of expectations, and producer prices were in line with expectations National Bureau of Statistics Opens Wednesday.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.6% in June from a year earlier, slightly lower than the 0.7% increase in the first six months of this year.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release second-quarter gross domestic product data and June economic indicators on Monday.
