China's foreign trade volume in dollar terms surged
by 37 percent year on year to $484.99 billion in April 2021, with both
imports and exports continuing a strong rebound, data from the General
Administration of Customs (GAC) showed on Friday.
Exports in dollar terms rose by 32.3 percent in April
from a year ago to $263.92 billion, compared with the year-on-year
growth of 30.6 percent seen in March, and above the predictions of 24.1
percent by Reuters and 24.5 percent by Bloomberg.
"China's export growth again surprised on the
upside," Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management said
in an email to CGTN.
"Two factors likely contributed to the strong export
growth. First, the U.S. economy is booming, boosting global demand.
Secondly, the COVID-19 crisis in India caused a delay in production,
therefore some orders were shifted to China," he said.
Zhang expected the country's export growth will stay
strong into the second half of this year, as the two factors above will
likely continue to favor Chinese manufacturers.
"Export will be a key pillar for growth in China this
year. It also helps renminbi to perform well among emerging market
currencies," Zhang said.
Imports in dollar terms soared by 43.1 percent last
month on an annual basis to $221.06 billion, hitting a decade high, and
up from the year-on-year growth of 38.1 percent in March.
It was slightly lower than an estimated growth of
44.4 percent forecasted by Bloomberg, but faster than the expected rise
of 42.5 percent tipped by the Reuters poll.
But it remains to be seen if strong import growth,
which was bolstered by higher commodity prices and largely due to the
negative growth a year ago, could be sustained, Zhang Yi, chief
economist at Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management was quoted as saying
by Reuters.
Adjusting for base effects, the export growth
quickened to 36.3 percent in April compared with the same period in
2019, up from 21.6 percent in March, while the growth of imports slowed
to 22.5 percent in April from the same period in 2019, down from 36.2
percent in March.
The country's total imports and exports surged by
38.2 percent to about $1.8 trillion in the first four months of 2021,
according to GAC.
China's trade surplus in April was $42.86 billion,
wider than a $28.1 billion surplus predicted by Reuters.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
remained to be China's No.1 trading partner, followed by the EU, U.S.,
and Japan.
China's exports to the ASEAN countries and the EU
rose by 42.16 percent and 23.81 percent respectively, while its imports
from the two largest trading partners climbed by 40.64 percent and 43.28
percent respectively.
In April, the country's trade surplus with the U.S.
rose by 22.92 percent from a year earlier to $28.11 billion, up from
$21.37 billion in March.
China and the U.S. are expected to assess the
implementation of their phase-one trade deal "in the near term," with
the outcome to influence the future of bilateral trade ties, U.S. Trade
Representative Katherine Tai said at the Financial Times Global
Boardroom forum on Wednesday.
"The stimulus in developed economies (especially the
U.S.) sustained demand for products manufactured in China, while the
worsening COVID-19 pandemic in many emerging markets, including India
and ASEAN, have also benefited China's exports," Lu Ting, chief China
economist of Nomura, said in an email to CGTN.
It has made those emerging market countries less
competitive against China, and in some cases, they have had to rely on
China for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other products to
combat COVID-19, Lu said.
Strong exports support China's recovery and may also
support Beijing's tough stance on the property sector. Strong exports
also give Beijing more scope to rein in local government debt, he added.
"However, we believe Beijing will remain cautious in
policy normalization, as the currently high rate of export growth may
not last, especially considering the limited purchasing power of
emerging market economies relative to developed market economies," said
Lu.
Source: CGTN |