Slumping US demand hammers China exports

October slide is worst outcome since February, as tariff front-loading fades

- JOE CASH ETHAN WANG

Chinese exports unexpectedly fell in October after months of front-loading US orders to beat President Donald Trump's tariffs, in a stark reminder of the manufacturing juggernaut’s reliance on American consumers even as it woos buyers elsewhere.

The world’s second-largest economy has pushed hard to diversify its export markets since Trump won last November's presidential election, bracing for a resumption of the trade war that dominated his first term in office, and seeking closer trade ties with Southeast Asia and the European Union.

However, no other country comes close to matching China’s annual sales of more than $400 billion in goods to the United States, a loss economists estimate has cut China's export growth by around 2 percentage points, or roughly 0.3% of GDP.

The October customs data yesterday underlined that point, as China’s exports shrank 1.1%, the worst performance since February, reversing from an 8.3% rise in September, and missing a forecast for 3.0% growth in a Reuters poll.

“Tt appears the rush to ship goods to the US ahead of tariff hikes subsided in October) said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Baoyin Capital Management.

“With export momentum now waning, China may need to rely more heavily on domestic demand.”