Chinese Exports to U.S. Declined 25% YOY in November

New York, NY, December 7, 2022-"Chinese exports fell at the steepest pace in more than two years in November, the latest indication of how the country’s pandemic restrictions and waning global demand for goods is throttling China’s economy,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

“Outbound shipments from China plunged 8.7% year-over-year last month, the biggest dip since February 2020, when a nationwide lockdown ground economic activities to a halt. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 2% drop.

"Exports to the U.S. fell deeper by 25% from the year prior in November for the fourth straight month, accelerating from a 13% decline the previous month, while sales of goods to the European Union dropped 11%, versus a 9% decline in October.

“The sharper-than-expected plunge comes amid weakening factory activity and a sluggish recovery in China’s property sector, adding pressure on Beijing to shore up economic confidence at home.

“November’s data may also portend badly for the global economy, economists say, as a sustained slide in Chinese exports sends a signal that a boom in trade that powered global growth in 2021 is fading, adding to the risk of a recession. Central banks in the U.S. and other developed countries have been raising interest rates to tame inflation, dampening demand for Chinese goods.

“In a meeting on Tuesday chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping, top Communist Party officials called for a fine-tuning of the country’s Covid-19 restrictions and urged measures to boost market confidence and domestic demand. Officials have to ‘better coordinate pandemic prevention and the need for economic and social development,’ according to the government’s readout of the Politburo meeting.

“The pledge by Chinese policy makers to make economic stability a priority in 2023 is the most recent recognition of the economic toll from the country’s stringent Covid policy, which has crippled supply chains, stifled consumer spending and most recently, fueled mass protests across major cities in China. Economists now expect China’s growth this year to be the weakest in decades, excluding 2020, when the pandemic first struck.

“On Wednesday, China’s health authority began paring back tight Covid restrictions, allowing Covid patients who show mild or no symptoms to recover at home, instead of in a government quarantine center, a major step by the country to experiment with living with the virus. Most requirements for virus testing and scanning health QR codes when entering places will be scrapped."