China's Exports Fall 1.1% in October Amid US-China Trade Conflict

Exports, Up 8.3% in September, Turn Negative

Amid ongoing uncertainty stemming from the US-China trade conflict, China's export performance last month recorded a year-on-year decline.

On the 7th (local time), containers loaded at Shanghai Port, China. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

On November 7 (local time), the General Administration of Customs of China announced that export value for October, measured in US dollars, decreased by 1.1% compared to the same month last year. This figure falls significantly short of both the September export growth rate of 8.3% and the market forecast of 3.0%.

While China has recently emphasized market openness, its import value in October increased by 1.0% year-on-year, but this also failed to reach the September import growth rate of 7.4%. As a result, the trade surplus in October stood at 90.07 billion dollars, falling short of last month's surplus of 90.45 billion dollars.

Since the beginning of this year, the US and China have imposed triple-digit tariffs on each other, and although a "truce" has continued since the high-level trade talks in May, the US has blocked China's access to advanced semiconductors, while China has weaponized rare earth elements. The two countries managed to reach some trade agreements at the summit held in Busan on October 30, but last month, both sides announced new sanctions ahead of the meeting in an attempt to keep each other in check, causing tensions to escalate once again.