China’s exports decline for the first time since March 2024
According to the Sedaye Sama News Agency, According to Anadolu, based on official Chinese government statistics released on Friday, the country’s exports declined in October for the first time since March 2024 amid rising trade tensions and uncertainty over tariff disputes between Beijing and Washington.
China’s General Administration of Customs announced that exports fell by 1.1% year-on-year to $305.3 billion, while imports rose by 1% to $215.2 billion. As a result, China’s trade surplus for the month stood at $90.07 billion.
This decline followed a strong performance in September, when China’s exports rose by 8.3% and imports by 7.4%. Experts attributed the September growth to increased pre-orders driven by concerns over the potential collapse of tariff negotiations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, China’s exports to the United States continued their downward trend in October, plunging 25.2% year-on-year, following decreases of 21.7% in July, 33.1% in August, and 27% in September.
In October, tensions between the world’s two largest economies escalated after Beijing imposed new restrictions on the export of rare earth elements, a sector in which China holds a dominant global market share.
In response, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that, starting November 1, a 100% tariff would be imposed on Chinese goods and that the export of critical software to China would be suspended.
Although Trump and Xi Jinping, the President of China, met on October 30 in Busan, South Korea, and their positive statements temporarily eased tensions, decisions on the core economic issues at the heart of the dispute were postponed.
