China Suffers Biggest Drop In Exports Since 2020

China last month suffered its biggest fall in exports for more than three years, official data showed Tuesday as the world's second-largest economy is battered by sluggish global demand and a domestic slowdown, Jing Xuanteng reported for the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Photo Insert: Apart from a brief rebound in March and April, exports have been in decline since October.

The data will force leaders to do more to revive growth as they planned stimulus measures focusing on consumers and the troubled property sector. Sales of Chinese products to foreign markets sank 14.5% on-year last month, a third consecutive drop, according to the customs authority.

The decline was bigger than expected and the heaviest since a 17.2% plunge in January-February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from a brief rebound in March and April, exports have been in decline since October. Weakening international demand for Chinese products has battered the economy. Exports dove 12.4% on-year in June.

Shipments to the European Union (EU) from January to July came to 2.08 trillion yuan ($288.9 billion), down 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, imports shrunk a forecast-busting 12.4%, a ninth straight month of contraction and further evidence that domestic demand has fallen off a cliff. Exports to the US stumbled by 24%, with Mexico replacing China as the top US trading partner.

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