Mainland's Exports, Imports Plunge In February

Mainland's exports and imports plummeted much more than expected in February, official data showed on Friday, adding to worries about slowing growth in the world's number two economy as it fights a trade war with the US.

Its politically sensitive trade surplus with the US narrowed to US$14.7 billion for the month from US$27.3 billion in January, the data from the mainland customs administration showed.

The total overseas shipments sank 20.7 percent on-year and imports fell 5.2 percent, much worse than the 5.0 percent and 0.6 percent drops forecast in a Bloomberg News poll.

"Today's trade figures reinforce our view that China's trade recession has started to emerge," said Raymond Yeung of ANZ bank in a note.

"Looking ahead, we find little reason to expect a rebound in the near term on the back of a sluggish global electronics cycle," said Yeung, adding it would weigh on mainland's first quarter GDP growth.

Recent economic data point to the difficulties China faces with growth in the last three months of 2018 clocking in at 6.4 percent.

However, analysts caution it is difficult to compare trends in mainland's data at the start of the year due to the Chinese New Year holiday, which came in early February this year and can affect business activity.

China's exports for the first two months fell 4.7 percent, and imports were down 3.1 percent, estimated Yeung of ANZ.

An end to the months-long US-China trade dispute would help mainland's hurting exporters – shipments to the US fell about 29 percent last month.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that negotiations were making progress, telling reporters at the White House that the talks were "moving along pretty well".

Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted on Friday that the two sides had made "significant progress" recently and blasted hawks in Washington who have advocated a "decoupling" between the two countries' economies.

"To decouple from China is to decouple from opportunities, decouple from the future, and in a sense, to decouple from the world," Wang said at a news conference in Beijing. (AFP)