BEIJING – China’s exports unexpectedly rose in November while imports fell slightly from a year earlier, customs data showed on Thursday.
Exports rose 0.5% in US dollar terms from a year earlier, against expectations for a 1.1% decline, according to analysts polled by Reuters.
Imports fell 0.6% in US dollar terms, missing a Reuters forecast for a 3.3% year-on-year increase.
The muted change in trade did little to offset an overall decline of around 5% to 6% in China’s exports and imports for the first 11 months of 2023.
Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research for Greater China at JLL, attributed the rise in exports to companies’ strategy of cutting prices to boost volumes in recent months.
“External demand is still relatively weak and holiday orders are lower than expected,” Pang said in Chinese, translated by CNBC.
“In general, the data show that there are major challenges in both domestic and external demand, and policy support that only focuses on the supply side will not be able to achieve lasting results,” he said.
The value of China’s exports to the US rose 7% in November from a year earlier, according to CNBC calculations of official data.
By contrast, China’s exports to the European Union fell 14.5% in November from a year earlier, and those to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations fell 7%, the analysis showed.
Overall, China’s exports of toys and electronics increased in November, while exports of cars continued their recent double-digit year-on-year growth. Exports of clothing, footwear and furniture fell on the year.
On the import side, China bought less from the US and Southeast Asia in November than a year ago, while purchases of goods from the EU rose slightly, the data showed.
China bought less crude oil last month, with imports falling in both price and volume. However, China’s imports of rare earths in November were roughly double the level of a year ago.
In October, China’s imports unexpectedly rose from a year earlier in US dollar terms, according to customs data released last week. In contrast, exports fell by a larger-than-expected 6.4% over the same period, the data showed.
Demand for Chinese goods has fallen this year as global growth slows.
Caixin’s monthly survey of manufacturers, known as the purchasing managers’ index, rose to a three-month high of 50.7 in November.
However, Caixin Insight Group senior economist Wang Zhe said in a report that “overseas demand remained sluggish, with the measure of new export orders remaining in contraction for the fifth consecutive month”.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics said its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index unexpectedly fell to 49.4 in November from 49.5 in October.
