Chinese exports jumped unexpectedly in March as officials signaled increased demand for electric vehicles, but analysts warned the improvement partly reflects suppliers catching up after last year’s Covid-19 woes.
Exports in March rose 14.8% from a year earlier, breaking five straight months of declines and surprising economists, who had forecast a 7.0% drop in a Reuters poll.
But analysts say the jump is likely related to exporters rushing to fill an order book that has been hit by the pandemic in recent months and warn the outlook for global demand remains dim.
“The wave of Covid outbreaks in December and January likely depleted factories’ inventories. Now that factories are operating at full capacity, they have recovered past arrears,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
“Strong export growth is unlikely to be sustained given the weak global macro outlook,” he added.
Meanwhile, imports fell less than expected, with economists pointing to an acceleration in the purchase of agricultural products, especially soybeans.
Imports fell by just 1.4%, against the forecast of a 5.0% drop and a 10.2% contraction in the previous two months. Increases in imports of crude oil, iron ore and soybeans for the month were offset by a decline in copper imports.
Lv Daliang, spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, attributed the surprise to strong demand for electric vehicles, solar products and lithium batteries.
However, he warned that conditions could worsen in the future.
“The external environment is still severe and complicated at the moment,” Lv told reporters on Thursday in Beijing. “Weak external demand and geopolitical factors will bring more challenges to China’s trade development,” he added.
Source: Terra
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