China export growth slows in November: customs data

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BEIJING, Dec 8, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – China’s export growth slowed last month
weighed down by trade tensions with the United States, official data released
Saturday showed.

Exports rose 5.4 percent for November on-year, short of the 9.4 percent
forecast by Bloomberg News, while imports rose 3.0 percent on-year, also
below the forecast, according to customs administration data.

China’s overall trade — what it buys and sells with all countries —
logged a $44.7 billion surplus in November, up from $35 billion the previous
month, the data showed.

The sagging export growth is another bad sign for China’s economy, which
grew at its slowest pace for nine years in the third quarter, expanding 6.5
percent on-year for July-September.

Last week as part of a trade war truce, US President Donald Trump agreed to
hold off on plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25
percent beginning January 1, leaving them at the current 10 percent rate.

But unease over the agreement has dented stocks this week with major US
indices falling more than two percent to close the market’s worst week since
March and one that left both the Dow and S&P 500 in negative territory for
the year.

China reacted furiously after a top executive and daughter of the founder
of Chinese telecom giant Huawei was arrested in Canada this week following a
US extradition request.

The arrest threatens to rattle the trade war truce with the United States,
analysts say.