Imports fell 10%; exports fell 1.4% on a monthly basis. In a year they fell respectively by 7.6 and 4.4. Domestic demand also falls. The causes: the tariff war with the US and debt problems.
Beijing (AsiaNews) - The slowdown in the Chinese economy and the consequences of the tariff war between China and the United States is increasingly evident. At noon, the Hong Kong stock market fell 1.4 percent; that of Shanghai - the worst in the world in 2018 - had fallen by 0.6%. Analysts agree that this is caused by the bad results of Chinese import-export that emerged today.
Last December China's exports fell by 1.4% compared to November, but by 4.4 in a year. The data is provided by the General Customs Administration.
The December fall - the biggest since December 2016, when China has grown at the lowest rate since 1990 - was unexpected: Bloomberg analysts had predicted a 2% increase.
A thump also for imports, which fell 10% compared to November and 7.6 compared to a year earlier. Also for this reason analysts expected an increase of 4.5%. The fall in December is the highest since July 2016.
The drop in import figures is another bad sign of the Chinese economic situation, where there is also a decline in domestic demand.
The Chinese government should set a 6 to 6.5% growth this year; last year it had set a growth of "around 6.5%". This decline is due to both the tariff war and the government's attempts to reduce debt, as well as loans that are too much at risk.